How to use Lougheed Town Centre Station when the Evergreen extension opens (PHOTOS)

When SkyTrain’s Millennium Line’s Evergreen extension opens later this year, passengers can expect major changes not only to the entire system’s routing, but also to how they use Lougheed Town Centre Station.

The station is set to become one of the busiest interchange points for the transit system. It will be a major transfer point between the Millennium Line running from VCC-Clark Station in Vancouver to Lafarge Lake-Douglas Station in Coquitlam, as well as the Expo Line running from Waterfront Station to Production Way-University Station.

See also

• New SkyTrain routes: Millennium Line will no longer run to Waterfront beginning October 22
• SkyTrain Evergreen Line to open before this Christmas
• $2-billion plan: 5 new B-Line routes and more frequent SkyTrain beginning in 2017

Earlier this week, TransLink announced that the Millennium Line will no longer run between Waterfront Station and Lougheed Town Centre Station starting on October 22. Instead, it will run between VCC-Clark and Lougheed Town Centre stations and the Expo Line will have two routes ending at Production Way-University Station and King George Station for trains traveling from Waterfront. Once the Evergreen Extension is  open, the Millennium Line will travel along the new 11-km-long span of Evergreen extension track to Coquitlam beginning just east of Lougheed Town Centre Station.

At Lougheed Town Centre Station, a third platform has been constructed to the north of the existing platforms for the Evergreen extension. This allows the station to accommodate the increased passenger loads and train movements from the Evergreen extension.

According to TransLink, passengers heading to Lafarge Lake-Douglas Station from the Expo Line at Lougheed Town Centre Station will have to go down the escalators or staircase to the ground concourse level to access the new platform.

A large display screen on the platform level, similar to the screens on the Canada Line, will display real-time next train arrival time and destination information.

These will be the new platform directions at Lougheed Town Centre Station:

• 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

Future SkyTrain routings beginning on October 22, 2016.

A TransLink spokesperson told Daily Hive that the Millennium Line trains on the Evergreen extension will travel on the left when arriving and departing Lougheed Town Centre Station. However, the trains on this route will crossover on a new track switch just west of Burquitlam to return to traveling on the right.

Alternatively, passengers can also transfer between trains at Production Way-University Station located just one station west of Lougheed Town Centre Station. As Production Way-University Station is built with a centre-oriented structure, passengers do not need to descend and ascend any staircases to access another platform.

Evergreen opening

An exact pre-Christmas opening date for the $1.4-billion, 11-km-long, six-station Evergreen extension of the Millennium Line will be announced sometime over the coming weeks. When open, passengers will be able to take a one-train-ride from VCC-Clark Station in Vancouver to Lafarge Lake-Douglas Station in just 35 minutes on both old and new sections of track. The new 11-km-long span of track from Lougheed Town Centre Station to Lafarge Lake-Douglas Station will take 15 minutes to complete.

TransLink is also currently in the process of constructing a third platform for Commercial-Broadway Station on the Expo Line’s downtown direction. However, this additional platform is meant to add embarking and disembarking capacity as passengers will be able to enter and exit from the doors on both sides of the train.

Take a look below for photos of the new and additional third platform at Lougheed Town Centre Station.