New SkyTrain routes begin this Saturday

Oct 21 2016, 9:22 pm

The new routes on SkyTrain’s Expo and Millennium lines will be in effect tomorrow ahead of the opening of the Evergreen extension later this year.

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Beginning Saturday, October 22, the Millennium Line will no longer operate between Waterfront and Lougheed stations and the Expo Line will have two routes with one route traveling from Waterfront to Production Way-University and the second route from Waterfront to King George.

Image: TransLink

Image: TransLink

For every two Expo Line trains bound for Surrey from Waterfront Station, there will be one train bound for Production Way-University Station. Passengers should look at station platform electronic displays and listen to voice announcements to know which trains they should board.

The changes are necessary to accommodate the new travel patterns and directional capacity required once the 11-kilometre, $1.4-billion Evergreen extension opens later this fall. It will also compartmentalize the system, making it more reliable, so that when something goes wrong on one line, it is less likely to affect another line on the train system.

As well, the realignment eliminates the Millennium Line loop from Waterfront Station and then back to Vancouver with the terminus station at VCC-Clark, which has been a major source of confusion for passengers unfamiliar with the system.

Current routes

  • Expo Line: Waterfront to King George
  • Millennium Line: Waterfront to VCC-Clark

New routes beginning on October 22

  • Expo Line:
    • Waterfront to King George
    • Waterfront to Production Way-University
  • Millennium Line:
    • VCC-Clark to Lougheed Town Centre

New routes after Evergreen extension opening (pre-Christmas 2016)

  • Expo Line:
    • Waterfront to King George
    • Waterfront to Production Way-University
  • Millennium Line:
    • VCC-Clark to Lafarge Lake-Douglas

Changes at Lougheed Town Centre Station

Another major change will be how passengers use Lougheed Town Centre.

A third platform has been constructed at Lougheed Town Centre Station to handle the increased passenger loads and train movements from the Evergreen extension. Millennium Line trains traveling eastbound towards Lafarge Lake-Douglas Station will use the new platform (platform 3).

Millennium Line trains arriving from Lafarge Lake-Douglas Station and Expo Line trains arriving from Waterfront will use the centre platform (platform 2). Expo Line trains arriving from Production-Way University Station will use the south platform (platform 1).

While most transfers will likely occur at Lougheed Town Centre Station, which necessitates descending and ascending escalators between the new platform and existing platforms, passengers can also transfer between the two lines at Production Way-University Station.

Image: Caley Dimmock / Daily Hive

Image: Caley Dimmock / Daily Hive

  • North Platform (newly built for Evergreen extension)
    • Trains arrive from: VCC-Clark Station on the Millennium Line
    • Trains depart towards: Lafarge Lake-Douglas Station on the Millennium Line
  • Centre Platform (existing)
    • Trains arrive from: Lafarge Lake-Douglas Station on the Millennium Line and Waterfront Station (via Columbia Station) on the Expo Line
    • Trains depart towards: VCC-Clark Station on the Millennium Line and Production Way-University Station on the Expo Line
  • South Platform (existing)
    • Trains arrive from: Production Way-University Station on the Expo Line
    • Trains depart towards: Waterfront Station (via Columbia Station) on the Expo Line

An exact pre-Christmas opening date for the Evergreen extension is expected soon.

Kenneth ChanKenneth Chan

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