Broadway Subway construction reaches major milestone with 100% of rail installed
The project to build SkyTrain’s Millennium Line Broadway extension has reached a major construction milestone with the completion of 100 per cent of the running rail installation, according to an update by the provincial government this week.
The achievement means all running rails along the 5.7-km-long extension between VCC-Clark Station and the future Arbutus Station have now been laid.
This process involved welding the running rails into 400-metre-long segments, and then pulling the segments into position on the elevated guideway and in the tunnels.
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Crews have now begun the process of installing the linear induction motor (LIM) rail, starting from the short segment of elevated guideway in the False Creek Flats just west of VCC-Clark Station.
SkyTrain’s Expo and Millennium lines use LIM technology, with the LIM rail being a continuous aluminum and steel plate installed between the running rails. It interacts with equipment in the train’s bogie to create electromagnetic energy that propel trains forward — acceleration and braking.
Another type of rail that will also need to be installed is the power rail, located on the side of the tracks to provide the trains with a continuous electrical supply.
February 2026 update on the installation progress of the Broadway Subway’s tracks. (Government of BC)
September 2025 construction progress on the tunnel for Broadway Subway. (Government of BC)
November 2025 construction progress on the elevated guideway for Broadway Subway. (Government of BC)
As well, crews are now installing communications cables along the tracks to connect the trains to the SkyTrain operations and control centre.
There is also progress with the installation electrical systems and a wide range of equipment inside the six new subway stations, which are beginning to take physical shape at ground level.
Dynamic testing of the system is expected to begin later in 2026 and continue through 2027. The Millennium Line extension reaching Arbutus is set to open in Fall 2027. Major construction first began in Spring 2021.
November 2025 construction progress on Great Northern Way-Emily Carr Station. (Government of BC)
November 2025 construction progress on Great Northern Way-Emily Carr Station. (Government of BC)
November 2025 construction progress at Oak-VGH Station. (Government of BC)
November 2025 construction progress at Mount Pleasant Station. (Government of BC)
South of the Fraser, significant progress is also being made on SkyTrain’s Expo Line Surrey-Langley extension between King George Station and the future Langley City Centre Station.
There is construction along the 16-km-long Fraser Highway segment where the SkyTrain extension will be built, including the forming of concrete columns, the launch of four special gantry crane machines in the second half of 2025 to build the concrete elevated guideway using thousands of pre-cast concrete segments, and the formation of the eight new elevated station structures, with the future Green Timbers Station being the most advanced. About 480 columns will support an elevated guideway made from over 4,400 pre-cast concrete segments.
In January 2026, the provincial government shared that pieces of the running rails for the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension have begun arriving, ahead of the start of track work this spring.
Construction on the Surrey-Langley extension first began in November 2025. It is expected to reach completion and open in late 2029, at which point the entire SkyTrain network will reach a length of just over 100 km, with both the Broadway and Surrey-Langley extensions adding a combined total of 22 km.
Arrival of running rails for the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain, January 2026. (Government of BC)
Arrival of running rails for the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain, January 2026. (Government of BC)
February 2026 construction progress on Surrey-Langley SkyTrain. (Government of BC)
February 2026 construction progress on Surrey-Langley SkyTrain. (Government of BC)
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