Broadway Subway track installation reached 100% completion this week | Daily Hive

Trackwork completed at the very end of the westbound tunnel just west of Arbutus Station of SkyTrain's Millennium Line extension (Broadway Subway), as seen in September 2026. This is also where the future UBC SkyTrain extension will begin. (Government of B.C.)

All track installation work for the Broadway Subway wrapped up this week, bringing SkyTrain’s Millennium Line extension to Arbutus another major step closer to its scheduled opening in late 2027.

The provincial government outlined the milestone this week. This involves the 100 per cent installation of the running rails, power rail, and the linear induction motor (LIM) rail for both the eastbound and westbound directions of the 5.7-km-long extension.

You might also like:

With track work now fully complete, this enables more advanced testing work to gradually begin across all segments of the extension, culminating in extensive stress testing under real-world conditions closer to opening day, with trains running all day at normal frequencies and stopping at each new subway station. Initial testing work began in Spring 2026 on the first segments with fully completed tracks.

broadway subway track installation progress september 2026

Full completion of trackwork on SkyTrain’s Millennium Line extension to Arbutus (Broadway Subway), September 2026. (Government of B.C.)

broadway city hall station construction september 2026

Construction progress on the Broadway-City Hall Station expansion for SkyTrain’s Millennium Line extension to Arbutus (Broadway Subway), as seen in September 2026. (Government of B.C.)

Construction is now focused on installing utilities, filling in the below-grade space above the structures of the six new subway stations, completing the entrance buildings and interiors of the subway stations, and rebuilding the streets and sidewalks.

The two blocks of West Broadway between Cambie Street and Alberta Street — the site of Broadway-City Hall Station — have been closed to all vehicles since late July to safely remove the temporary traffic bridge deck and restore the roadway, with the road now expected to fully reopen in January 2027. Within this section, buses and all other vehicles are being diverted along 8th Avenue via Cambie Street and Alberta Street.

Earlier this year, a one-block stretch of East Broadway between Quebec Street and Alberta Street — the site of Mount Pleasant Station — necessitated a similar full closure and detour over four months.

However, only partial vehicle lane closures — not highly disruptive full road closures and detours — will be required for the temporary traffic bridge deck removal and roadway restoration work at Arbutus Station, South Granville Station, and Oak-VGH Station. Above-ground entrance work is also well underway at Great Northern Way-Emily Carr Station.

mount pleasant station construction august 2026

Restoration of the East Broadway roadway above the new Mount Pleasant Station, as seen in August 2026. (Government of B.C.)

This week, the provincial government also provided a separate update on the Surrey–Langley SkyTrain project, where construction of the 16-km-long elevated guideway along Fraser Highway is approximately 65 per cent complete.

The project, formally named the “Dave Barrett Extension” earlier this month after the former B.C. premier, will extend the Expo Line from the existing King George Station to Langley City Centre, adding eight elevated stations.

One of the four large specialized gantry crane launching machines — used to assemble the elevated guideway — is scheduled to move from Surrey into Langley this week. Langley Launcher, the name of this particular machine, has already built roughly 3 km of guideway, starting at Hillcrest-184 Street Station.

Its next task is to build the elevated guideway segment over Willowbrook Drive before continuing towards the Willowbrook Station site.

Another machine, the Surrey Sprinter, is expected to reach Green Timbers Station in the coming weeks and build the elevated guideway west of the station this fall.

As well, the Fleetwood Flyer is due to finish its assigned stretch of roughly 3 km in October 2026.

surrey sprinter skytrain green timbers station construction august 2026 f

Surrey Sprinter specialized gantry crane machine approaching Green Timbers Station on the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension, as seen in August 2026. (Government of B.C.)

surrey sprinter skytrain green timbers station construction august 2026

Surrey Sprinter specialized gantry crane machine approaching Green Timbers Station on the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension, as seen in August 2026. (Government of B.C.)

These machines are responsible for lifting and installing 4,400 pre-cast concrete elevated guideway segments into place above over 480 concrete columns. These segments are being manufactured at a temporary plant in Campbell Heights.

Two of the machines are expected to complete their elevated guideway installation work before the end of 2026.

It is also noted that more than 95 per cent of the elevated guideway’s foundation piles and support columns are complete, while construction is well underway at all eight new stations.

Additionally, trackwork on the Expo Line extension first began this past spring. Initial testing work is expected to begin in late 2026.

SkyTrain’s Dave Barrett Extension is expected to reach completion and open in late 2029, at which point TransLink’s overall SkyTrain network — entailing the Canada Line, extended Millennium Line, and extended Expo Line — will reach a total length of just over 100 km. This means that before the end of this decade, the SkyTrain network will grow by about 22 km in length from the opening of both extensions in Vancouver and Surrey/Langley.

surrey langley skytrain extension construction september 2026 1

Surrey-Langley SkyTrain construction progress, September 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

You might also like: