SkyTrain delays anticipated for rail replacement work during weekends

TransLink is warning transit users of scheduled service delays on SkyTrain’s Expo and Millennium lines to allow maintenance crews to perform rail replacement work.

Delays will occur all day during the final weekend of August and again on Labour Day weekend. Passengers are advised to allow 20 minutes in extra travel time when using the trains.

Major sections of aging rail up to 30 years old, totalling 4,550 linear metres of rail, need to be replaced at three main locations.

“We want to keep our valued customers moving while the rail replacement work is underway, and we’re doing everything we can to keep people moving while the repair work is done,” Colleen Brennan, TransLink Vice-President of Communications and Customers, said in a statement.

According to TransLink, passengers can expect the following delays and service disruptions during their weekend travels:

Weekend 1: Last August weekend

• When: 11 p.m. on Friday, August 28 to end of service on Sunday, August 30, all day
• Expected delays and disruptions:
  • Expo and Millennium Line service will be reduced, while crews replace rail west of Edmonds Station. Trains will single track at Edmonds and Royal Oak stations.
  • Millennium Line will operate between VCC-Clark and Columbia stations only. To connect to Millennium Line, passengers can take Expo Line and change trains at Commercial-Broadway or Columbia stations.
  • Additional trains will operate between Waterfront and Metrotown stations only. Passengers boarding Expo Line in Vancouver and travelling to stations east of Metrotown should wait for “King George” trains and avoid transferring at Metrotown where the platform is narrowed during construction.

Weekend 2: Labour Day Weekend

• When: Saturday, September 5 to Monday, September 7, all day
• Expected delays and disruptions:
  • Expo and Millennium Line service will be reduced, while crews replace rail west of Commercial-Broadway Station. Trains will single track at Commercial-Broadway and Main Street-Science World stations.
  • Millennium Line will operate between VCC-Clark and Columbia stations only.
  • A frequent bus shuttle will operate between VCC-Clark, Main Street-Science World and Stadium-Chinatown stations from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Millennium Line customers travelling into or out of downtown Vancouver in the afternoon should consider using this bus service.

The section of rail between Main Street-Science World and Commercial-Broadway stations is in particular need of replacement given that it is the oldest part of the entire network. The stretch was completed in 1983 as a one-station, one-kilometre demonstration project prior to the opening of the Expo Line in December 1985.

In addition to rail replacement work, this summer TransLink will be completing a $33-million project to replace 34 kilometres of power rails on the Expo Line from Nanaimo Station to Scott Road Station.

Main Street-Science World Station will also fully reopen later this summer following an extensive, two-year $37-million renovation project.