Indigenous art to be installed inside all future new generation SkyTrain cars

Artistic rendering of the new generation Mark V SkyTrain car interior. (TransLink)

The future new generation of SkyTrain cars on the Expo and Millennium lines will receive an Indigenous art flair for their interior designs.

TransLink is currently in the process of seeking five local Indigenous artists for the windscreens of the train interior.

The windscreens are vertical transparent plastic barriers on either side of the train doors. The intent is to have the train manufacturer, Alstom, apply vinyl decals on these windscreens before they are delivered to TransLink.

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There will be 10 windscreens on each car (five per side of the car) or 50 windscreens on each of the new five-car-long Mark V generation of trains. The decals will have two identical graphics within a single car and per door of that car.

A TransLink spokesperson told Daily Hive Urbanized these decals will be found on all of the new cars.

A total of 205 Mark V cars — 41 five-car-long articulated trains — have been ordered, with the first train set to arrive and launch for service by late 2024 and the last train by late 2027. This new fleet will be used to completely retire the original Mark I cars from the 1980s and early 1990s, provide capacity for the Millennium Line Broadway Extension opening in 2026, and provide an overall system capacity boost for the Expo and Millennium lines.

Train interior graphics provided by TransLink show not only the interior design of the train and where the windscreens will be located on each type of car but also the final seating configuration, which incorporates more side seating for more standing capacity and flexible spaces. There will also be other enhanced features, such as an LCD video screen above each doorway for the display of real-time, next station information, and other transit information.

mark v skytrain car configuration middle car ab

A/B front/tail car configuration for the new generation Mark V SkyTrain vehicle, with windscreen locations circled. (TransLink)

mark v skytrain car configuration middle car c

C middle car configuration for the new generation Mark V SkyTrain vehicle, with windscreen locations circled. (TransLink)

Artistic rendering of the new generation Mark V SkyTrain car interior. (TransLink)

Mark V SkyTrain mockup (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Eligible artists must be from one of Metro Vancouver’s First Nations, including the Katzie, Kwantlen, Kwikwetlem, Matsqui, Musqueam, Qayqayt, Squamish, Semiahmoo, Tsawwassen, or Tsleil-Waututh.

The selected artists will be paid $3,000 each for their work, based on a license for the use of their work for 10 years. The art will be displayed for five to seven years.

TransLink’s rationale for the art project is to showcase Indigenous artwork, but it is also generally known that artwork on public walls and surfaces — such as murals — can help deter vandalism.

The public transit authority also recently provided its newest SeaBus vessel with an Indigenous art design for its exterior, along with Indigenous art murals for the SeaBus terminals.

All six new subway stations of the Broadway Extension will also each receive unique Indigenous public art installations.

The new SeaBus Burrard Chinook vessel during its maiden voyage on July 22, 2021. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

SeaBus Waterfront Station Indigenous art

Indigenous art at the SeaBus terminal at Waterfront Station. (TransLink)

Indigenous art at the SeaBus terminal at Lonsdale Quay. (TransLink)

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