High-speed rail terminus station should be at Vancouver airport, says YVR CEO | Daily Hive

High-speed rail terminus station should be at Vancouver International Airport, says YVR CEO

Vancouver International Airport and SkyTrain's YVR Airport Station. (Kenneth Chan)

A future high-speed rail line linking Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver should have its northernmost terminus station located at Canada’s second busiest airport, according to Vancouver International Airport (YVR) president and CEO Tamara Vrooman.

Speaking to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade earlier this spring, Vrooman voiced support for the long-discussed transportation project linking British Columbia with Washington and Oregon, arguing that a direct connection to YVR would strengthen regional mobility and enhance the airport’s role as a transportation hub.

The proposed Cascadia high-speed rail project, which is being explored by levels of government, businesses, and organizations on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, is largely being spearheaded by Washington state, as the vast majority of the proposed route between the northernmost areas of Oregon and the South Coast of B.C. would run through the state.

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When asked, Vrooman said she has met with stakeholders involved in advancing the project.

“I’ve met with the folks, both on the Washington state side, leadership at Microsoft, who have been actively involved in that project, and also the Province of B.C.,” she said.

Vrooman said YVR has advocated for the airport to play a central role in this passenger rail network, which would not only reach high speeds to provide short interregional rail travel times but also operate frequently.

She noted that major airports around the world are often connected to other metropolitan regions by high-speed rail, a model she believes would benefit Metro Vancouver.

“I’ve advocated that the best terminus for that is YVR, because we can really have a connection to the city, and it would facilitate any kind of corridor access coming in from the south,” said Vrooman.

“So, again, if you travel, and if you have to leave airports around the world, airports that are in the top five, each and every one of them has a high-speed rail link.”

While acknowledging that a Cascadia high-speed rail project remains a very long-term undertaking, she said YVR is already considering how future infrastructure could accommodate such a connection.

“When we plan, we think about those things, so we make sure that we leave room for 15 years from now, a high-speed rail line that will come to Oregon,” said Vrooman.

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SkyTrain’s Canada Line final approach before YVR Airport Station. (Kenneth Chan)

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YVR Airport Station on SkyTrain’s Canada Line. (Kenneth Chan)

Similarly, some of the potential routes and station location discussions for the Cascadia high-speed rail project being discussed south of the border consider directly serving Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

As well, the Government of Canada’s Alto high-speed rail project between Toronto and Quebec City is expected to place the westernmost terminus station in Downtown Toronto, but there is also some consideration of possibly providing a second station to serve Toronto Pearson International Airport, where there are also major plans to build Pearson Regional Transit Centre — a major multimodal transportation hub for new and enhanced local and regional public transit services, including both buses and rail.

Although it has its major advantages, a downtown station is not a requirement for high-speed rail. Around the world, many systems serve airports and suburban transportation hubs rather than city centres, using the airport’s strong public transit connections to distribute passengers throughout the metropolitan region. Such locations can also offer more available land for expansion and lower construction costs compared with building rail infrastructure through dense urban cores.

Direct high-speed rail connections to major international airports are common in many parts of Europe and Asia. Major hubs such as Frankfurt, Amsterdam Schiphol, and Paris Charles de Gaulle airports have high-speed rail stations, allowing travellers to transfer between trains and flights without leaving the airport terminal. This improves regional access, reduces road traffic, and expands an airport’s reach beyond its immediate metropolitan area.

However, YVR’s public transit services are defined by SkyTrain’s Canada Line, which is capacity-constrained over the long term due to its short station platforms, resulting in the operation of short trains with only minimal lengthening capabilities. The segment of this SkyTrain line leading to YVR Airport Station also has its own specific design challenges, as the final 650-metre segment was built with one track, and the station itself also only has one track and a side platform.

Vrooman noted that while the Canada Line is a success and “fantastic service,” the airport authority is continually assessing the technical feasibility, from an engineering standpoint, of twinning this SkyTrain line’s final section leading to YVR Airport Station.

YVR Airport Station on SkyTrain’s Canada Line. (Kenneth Chan)

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SkyTrain’s YVR Airport Station; FIFA World Cup Vancouver decorations, as seen on May 11, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Previously, there were also some suggestions of locating the high-speed rail line’s northern terminus station in Surrey, which could be an option to lower construction costs — given its relatively shorter distance from the Canada-U.S. border — and as a way to further economically enhance Surrey, with the line potentially reaching a SkyTrain station in Surrey City Centre.

The proposed high-speed rail corridor would span hundreds of kilometres, cross an international border, and require coordination among multiple federal, state, provincial, and local governments.

Given the scale and complexity of the undertaking, construction is expected to be decades away and would likely require tens of billions of dollars. It also remains unclear how geopolitical and economic tensions between Canada and the United States could affect the project’s timeline, potentially creating additional hurdles for the cross-border cooperation required to advance such a megaproject. Canadian governments have been actively seeking to diversify the country’s economy and trade relationships beyond its longstanding reliance on the United States.

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Cascadia high-speed rail business case, July 2019. (Washington State Department of Transportation)

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