TransLink exploring overhaul of SkyTrain Stadium-Chinatown Station

SkyTrain Stadium-Chinatown Station. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

An extensive upgrade is being explored for SkyTrain’s Stadium-Chinatown Station, which is one of the busiest stations on the network.

TransLink is seeking a contractor to conduct a study on the feasibility of upgrading the station. The request for proposal (RFP) bidding process ends next week.

A spokesperson for TransLink told Daily Hive Urbanized the contractor will explore the feasibility of at least three possible upgrade scenarios.

No other details are available at this time as the project is in the very early stages.

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Stadium-Chinatown Station uniquely has a third sidetrack serving a third platform, which is rarely used for revenue service. This third platform was briefly used for service in 2019 when track maintenance was being conducted, but it is otherwise unused, closed to the public, and used for train and maintenance vehicle storage.

The third platform was built to accommodate shuttle train operations during Expo ’86 between the main World’s Fair site in False Creek and the Canada Pavilion in Coal Harbour, now known as Canada Place. The third platform previously had a pedestrian overpass extending from its southern end, and an additional entrance from the northeast corner of the intersection of Dunsmuir Street and Beatty Street, which is now buried.

SkyTrain Stadium-Chinatown Station’s pedestrian overpass to the third platform during Expo ’86. (TransLink)

First time boarding the train on the closed 3rd platform of #SkyTrain Stadium-Chinatown Station.

About to see first hand a new tech I’ve previously seen on major subways in Asia, now coming to our SkyTrain… pic.twitter.com/s9oNKYETNA

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) April 12, 2022

The station’s ticketing concourse also features two retail outlets tenanted to Tim Hortons and Boba Boy. Both businesses recently opened, with the Tim Hortons retail unit being new.

Given its adjacency to Rogers Arena, BC Place Stadium, and Queen Elizabeth Theatre, the station is also uniquely frequently subject to ridership surges, especially when events end at the nearby venues.

When events are held at Rogers Arena, metal fences outside the station’s Expo Boulevard entrance are retracted to establish a mid-block pedestrian crossing, controlled by traffic guards, between the station and the stadium.

SkyTrain Stadium-Chinatown Station. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Ridership at the station is likely to increase from the eventual developments in the area, including the new Vancouver Art Gallery, several new standalone office towers, and The Post redevelopment with Amazon’s new Vancouver office hub.

According to TransLink statistics, Stadium-Chinatown Station was the seventh busiest SkyTrain station in 2019, with 5.6 million annual boardings and an average weekday ridership of 17,000. It has a total of 13 fare gates across its three entrances, plus card reader posts for the surge event gate at the Expo Boulevard entrance.

TransLink is also planning to perform a major upgrade on Edmonds Station and Columbia Station. In March, Daily Hive Urbanized reported TransLink acquired the adjacent Boucher Centre building to accommodate a future upgrade of Columbia Station.

Also in March, construction began on a $33-million upgrade and expansion of Brentwood Town Centre Station.

However, plans for the Burrard Station capacity overhaul have stalled. Construction necessitating a full temporary station closure was originally set to begin early in 2022, but the public transit authority has put the project on hold over the need to go back to the drawing board on the design in order to reduce costs.

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