First new generation SkyTrain begins real-world field testing | Daily Hive

First new generation SkyTrain begins real-world field testing on Expo and Millennium lines

The first Mark V SkyTrain train being tested at Alstom's facility in Kingston, Ontario, August 2023. (TransLink)

The first new-generation, five-car Mark V SkyTrain trains will begin running along the Expo and Millennium Line routes starting this weekend.

However, you won’t be able to board the new trains yet, as it is part of the real-world field-testing process for the new fleet.

During testing, these first Mark V trains will stop at stations, but passengers will not be permitted to board. All testing will occur during daytime during non-peak hours and will not impact regular service levels.

These cars are visually distinct not only for their longer length but also their exterior blue livery.

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According to TransLink, the testing process will assess the onboard systems, performance running along the Expo and Millennium lines, and the upgrades made to a number of station platforms to accommodate the longest trains used on the system yet.

But in order for the Mark V trains to be used for regular service, the station platform upgrades need to reach full completion, which is now anticipated for the coming months. These new five-car-long trains will stretch the full length of the approximately 80-metre platforms of the Expo and Millennium lines.

Over the past two years, at a select number of station platforms in need of upgrades, TransLink has been reconfiguring existing emergency exit points, adding new staircases, filling gaps between the train doors and platforms, relocating guideway intrusion alarms, and moving guideway maintenance walkways.

SkyTrain Waterfront Station Access and Safety Project f

Construction work on the Expo Line’s Waterfront Station platform for the SkyTrain Station Access and Safety Project, and a four-car Mark III train. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

skytrain mark v train arrival burnaby december 2023

New Mark V SkyTrain cars arrive at TransLink’s Edmonds facility in Burnaby, December 2023. (TransLink)

At this juncture, the public transit authority anticipates the first Mark V trains will enter service sometime in Spring 2025, after the completion of real-world testing and station upgrades.

These trains are being built at Alstom’s (formerly Bombardier Transportation) manufacturing facility in Kingston, Ontario. The first newly completed train arrived at SkyTrain’s Edmonds yard in December 2023, and static and dynamic testing was performed throughout 2024. Prior to being shipped to Metro Vancouver, Alstom also conducted extensive testing at their plant’s test track.

All 47 five-car-long Mark V trains — a total of 235 cars — will go through this daytime field testing to meet safety requirements. The field testing will continue until all 47 new trains enter service by 2029.

This includes 41 trains (205 cars) that were part of the original order in 2020, and an additional six new trains (30 cars) that were ordered in May 2024 that exercised the contract’s first option.

The large first order will go toward retiring the entirety of SkyTrain’s original Mark I trains from the 1980s and early 1990s, boost overall capacity on the Expo and Millennium lines, and provide the capacity needed for the Millennium Line’s Broadway extension opening in Fall 2027. The small second order will be dedicated to the capacity needed for the Expo Line’s Surrey-Langley extension, opening in late 2029.

According to a TransLink board of directors report in December 2024, one new train from the order is expected to arrive every month in 2025, and there could be up to 10 to 12 new trains in service by the end of this year.

The first Mark V SkyTrain train being tested at Alstom’s facility in Kingston, Ont., August 2023. (TransLink)

mark v skytrain translink test alstom kingston ontario august 2023

The first Mark V SkyTrain train being tested at Alstom’s facility in Kingston, Ont., August 2023. (TransLink)

The initial new train arrivals will serve the purpose of retiring the old Mark I trains. In late 2024, TransLink began the process of seeking proposals to potentially find new creative uses for at least some of the Mark I cars, instead of the scrapyard.

Currently, construction is underway on SkyTrain’s new additional operations and maintenance facility in Coquitlam — near Braid Station, called OMC4 — to handle the maintenance and storage requirements of the Mark V fleet and future growth.

These Mark V trains are a longer and upgraded variant of the four-car-long Mark III trains currently in use, which entered service between 2016 and 2020. The $1.3-billion OMC4 facility will reach completion and open in 2027, when existing yard space is fully tapped out and there is a steady pace of new train arrivals.

Under crush capacity, the Mark V train can potentially hold up to 1,207 passengers, whereas the Mark III train can handle up to 940 passengers.

The features of the Mark V trains include a new seating configuration with wider aisles, open flex areas for the ease of mobility devices, strollers, bikes, and luggage, and new video screens that display next station details and other pertinent information. Additionally, these new trains also offer upgraded heating, ventilation, and cooling systems for improved climate control.

TransLink is currently in the process of seeking a contractor to study a new propulsion power substation for the Expo Line in downtown Vancouver, specifically how it could impact the Cordova 3 Viaduct near Waterfront Station. This new utility would provide SkyTrain with more power to prepare for expansion.

translink mark v skytrain completed 2024

The first completed new generation five-car Mark V train for SkyTrain. (TransLink)

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