SkyTrain Capstan Station set to open in Fall 2023

Construction progress on SkyTrain Capstan Station, as of March 11, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Public transit riders will have to wait longer to be able to use the new additional station for the SkyTrain Canada Line in Richmond.

TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn told the Mayors’ Council today construction on Capstan Station is now expected to reach completion in Summer 2023, and its actual opening for regular service is slated for as early as Fall 2023.

When construction first began on the station in September 2021, the public transit authority indicated it was anticipating an opening of Capstan Station in early 2023.

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Quinn says construction continues to progress on the station, including the completion of the concourse level’s roof, masonry walls for the back-of-house rooms, and the installation of the escalator frames. As well, work has also progressed on the platform level, including the installation of concrete flooring, wood roof panels, and guideway work.

The station is being built near the northeast corner of the intersection of No. 3 Road and Capstan Way — roughly midway between Bridgeport Station and Aberdeen Station.

Canada Line passengers on trains passing through the under-construction station have been able to see significant progress at the platform in recent weeks and months.

The next station is… #Capstan.

The wood panel roofs over the platforms for the new #SkyTrain Canada Line station have been installed.

Opening later in 2023. #TransLink #vanre #vanpoli pic.twitter.com/ruUEmLf0w0

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) March 12, 2023

skytrain capstan station construction march 11 2023

Construction progress on SkyTrain Capstan Station, as of March 11, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Location of the future Capstan Station on the Canada Line. (TransLink)

Of course, there have been major disruptions to Canada Line services in Richmond to accommodate longer overnight construction hours, particularly ending regular service about three hours early for weeks at a time. Such disruptions have been deemed necessary for the safe use of an overhead crane.

The $52-million station will serve the new high-density Capstan Village neighbourhood, which is expected to grow to 16,000 residents living in 6,000 homes within roughly a 10-minute walking radius from the station. Between 2012 and 2020, the City of Richmond collected $32 million from the area’s residential developers towards covering the cost of building the station, with TransLink covering the remaining $20 million.

Artistic rendering of Capstan Station on SkyTrain Canada Line. (Office of McFarlane Biggar Architects & Designers/TransLink)

The station will offer new and improved design features compared to the original Canada Line stations on No. 3 Road, including longer and wider platforms, both up and down escalators, larger circulation areas for passengers, and space for a retail unit. The station’s design was created by Office of McFarlane Biggar Architects & Designers.

This is the second time TransLink has built a station on an existing active segment of a SkyTrain line; Lake City Way Station was completed in November 2003, nearly two years after the opening of the original Millennium Line.

Artistic rendering of Capstan Station. (Office of McFarlane Biggar Architects & Designers/TransLink)

Layout of Capstan Station. (Office of McFarlane Biggar Architects & Designers/TransLink)

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