Convoy of trucks carrying first new SkyTrain cars arrives in Vancouver

New SkyTrain cars being delivered to Vancouver from Kingston, Ontario. (TransLink)

The first four of 56 new SkyTrain cars for the Expo Line and Millennium Line have arrived at the Operations and Maintenance Centre in Burnaby, according to TransLink.

These new generation Mark III cars made their journey on four oversized flatbed trucks, travelling on the Trans-Canada Highway from the Bombardier factory in Kingston, Ontario.

“Marky” went through Regina today on the way to Vancouver. These are the first 4 of 56 new #SkyTrain cars for @TransLink. pic.twitter.com/9jwwNml3kn

— Wayne Mantyka (@WayneMantykaCTV) September 10, 2018

Now that they have arrived, these cars will be connected into a single fully-articulated, four-car train with a capacity of up to 532 passengers.

In total, the latest order of new cars – 28 cars arriving by early-2019 and 28 cars arriving by late-2019 – will create 14 new trains. Each train will be extensively tested before being placed in service.

New SkyTrain cars being delivered to Vancouver from Kingston, Ontario. (TransLink)

The new trains and the resulting redistribution of the existing fleet will increase capacity on the Expo Line by 10% and the Millennium Line by 23%.

The public transit authority announced earlier this year it is accelerating its train orders due to overwhelming ridership demand. This also includes 24 additional cars for the Canada Line from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem, which will be shipped to Vancouver by the end of 2020.

These orders will cost a total of $298 million, with $210 million for the order for the Expo Line and Millennium Line and $88 million for the Canada Line.

Further orders of Mark III cars beyond 2020 will allow for the gradual retirement of the old Expo-era Mark I cars beginning in the middle of the next decade.

New SkyTrain cars being delivered to Vancouver from Kingston, Ontario. (TransLink)

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