Vancouver Skytrain Track Diagramme

[cabotp]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

Looking at the map, I realize it's a shorter distance from Millenium Line VCC King Edward station to Canada Line City Hall than the length of the Burquitlam tunnel on the Evergreen Line.

Why don't we concentrate on this piece of vital surgery (VCC to City Hall) before ANYTHING else? It would add karmic energy to the whole system overall. (Plus, it would provide a needed and convenient connection)

While it would be nice to get that section done asap. I also know that if that suddenly started to get built. You would have so many people crying "Vancouver always gets what it wants".

So for that reason I feel we need to do the Evergreen first as it was next on the list.

If they had the money I'd say do both at the same time.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by Zassk

The tunnel to Cambie would probably not cost very much, either, if it was piggy-backed to another project that already uses a tunnel boring machine (i.e. Evergreen).

But realistically, it makes more sense to extend Millennium at least to the hospital district. When people talk about all of the jobs and services in "Central Broadway", the hospital district is the lion's share of that. That means building the line at least to Oak.

A couple of extra km of track past Cambie would greatly extend the influence of the SkyTrain network as a whole.

Thanks for pointing that out. Yes!! Go for it, go for it, go for it!!

[AMTDGT]

Originally Posted by cabotp

While it would be nice to get that section done asap. I also know that if that suddenly started to get built. You would have so many people crying "Vancouver always gets what it wants".
So for that reason I feel we need to do the Evergreen first as it was next on the list.
If they had the money I'd say do both at the same time.

It would be cheaper in the long run to use the TBM on Evergreen tunnel, then move it to Vancouver, to dig a tunnel to say Arbutus (heck why not Blanca) in stead of getting another one in a few years. The politicians should be able to spin that one especially if they finish the Evergreen & its stations first, before a Vancouver station opens.

To begin with, you only need to build the Cambie Canada line transfer station and the UBC station, with the rest of the stations phased in as money and political will comes available. Imagine the Airport traffic feed from both the Millennium / Evergreen and Expo lines. Might even pay for the Cambie station. Eventually the West Broadway NIBYs would get on side and demand their stations be built. All the UBC traffic under them would be too big of a incentive for them not to change.

[cabotp]

Originally Posted by AMTDGT

It would be cheaper in the long run to use the TBM on Evergreen tunnel, then move it to Vancouver, to dig a tunnel to say Arbutus (heck why not Blanca) in stead of getting another one in a few years. The politicians should be able to spin that one especially if they finish the Evergreen & its stations first, before a Vancouver station opens.

To begin with, you only need to build the Cambie Canada line transfer station and the UBC station, with the rest of the stations phased in as money and political will comes available. Imagine the Airport traffic feed from both the Millennium / Evergreen and Expo lines. Might even pay for the Cambie station. Eventually the West Broadway NIBYs would get on side and demand their stations be built. All the UBC traffic under them would be too big of a incentive for them not to change.

That could be quite possible. If the public consultation happens quickly enough and they make the decision on what they want to build on Broadway.

If the money is there at the time they could in theory start digging the Broadway tunnel after the Evergreen line tunnel is done.

What would through this plan is if the Broadway decision wasn't made you yet or there were financial problems.

[sweetnhappy]

Originally Posted by lightrail

Here's my final copy - I think. anybody care to upload to Wiki for me - if so, I'll email the SVG file to you - PM me.

Hi everyone,

Just registered so that I can share my updated copy of lightrail's SkyTrain Track Diagram for Metro Vancouver:



Comments, suggestions, etc. are welcome. I have the Illustrator file and an SVG version available upon request.

Note: I will not be posting (and request no-one else do so either) this updated version elsewhere (Wikipedia, Buzzer Blog, etc.) until the "Evergreen Extension" moniker is confirmed (controversy exists because government sources still claim it to be named the Evergreen Line despite signage at the new stations and other sources claiming otherwise) as well as the confirmation of the update to the Millennium and Expo Line routes (Millennium no longer going to Waterfront via Braid, and Expo branching at Columbia and the northern branch terminus station being Production Way-University).

Edit: Thanks officedweller! Don't know how I missed that switch (I knew it was there). And I do recall, after passing by the tracks today, that they are indeed not in a basketweave formation east of Lougheed Station. Also added the note about the Vehicle Storage Facility.

Edit 2: Updated Broadway Extension based on the UBC SkyTrain Group's website. It suggests an actual alignment (rather than my previous one which was merely connecting stations).

Edit 3: Updated Broadway Extension based on City Report on re-alignment due to office building on Great Northern Way campus

Edit 4: Updated Broadway-City Hall (Broadway Extension) station location (based on http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...62479&page=354 which mentions the knockout panel is on the west side of the Mezzanine level).

Edit 5: Added new platform being constructed at Commercial–Broadway for Spanish Solution (northbound trains at platform 3 - passengers disembark on new east platform and embark on existing (centre/island) platform).

Edit 6: Updated 57th Avenue Canada Line station (construction begins in 2018); fixed Expo/Millennium OMC connection and track layout; modified Langley Centre to use island/centre platform instead of side platforms (typical of terminus stations with 2 tracks, i.e. Waterfront, Lafarge Lake-Douglas - King George, VCC–Clark, and Arbutus are/were never meant to be termini (expected extensions)).

[officedweller]

Nice, thanks.

A switch west of the Lougheed centre platform is missing and there's no basketweave east of Lougheed Station on the Evergreeen Extension
(so the track map should just show parallel lines). The missing switch is shown on this diagram:


http://www.partnershipsbc.ca/files-4..._Article-1.pdf

Note that the Expo Line route shown on the above diagram (in blue and yellow) is now (presumably) out of date since the trains will go to Production Way-University Station.

You might also add a note about a future Port Coquitlam extension and the Vehicle Storage Facility east of Falcon Drive (which is shown as a siding)

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by sweetnhappy

Just registered so that I can share my updated copy of lightrail's SkyTrain Track Diagram for Metro Vancouver...

Terrific work, many thanks for the effort and the posting!

[SOSS]

Anyone know the history why the Boundary-Kingsway Station was never part of the initial line? I'm fuzzy on timelines but I thought the Telus 'Boot' building was already there so density at the time probably made sense.

[twoNeurons]

Is there no switch closer to Production Way? I assumed the train would switch tracks right before production way.

Any thoughts on whether it be wrong railed from just west of Lougheed? Where is it going to do the turn around?


Is there a chance the EXPO line trains won't STOP at Production Way? That they will simply change to be considered M-Line trains from that point? Or would that be too confusing? If mean, if the track capacity is there, I don't see a huge problem with doing it that way. Although, I assume the Eastbound trains would be more challenging.

[Spork]

Originally Posted by SOSS

Anyone know the history why the Boundary-Kingsway Station was never part of the initial line? I'm fuzzy on timelines but I thought the Telus 'Boot' building was already there so density at the time probably made sense.

It was the boot and a swath of industrial land. It certainly might make sense in another 20 years when Joyce-Collingwood gets super busy from all of the new development in the area, and certainly if Burnaby starts developing on their side, but right now most of the density is within an 8 minute walk of the station.

[officedweller]

Apparently Telus wouldn't contribute to the cost of the station.

[SOSS]

That sucks. So 30 years later and still no station. Imagine the tax revenue that the province would have earned with the added development and increased taxes that a station there would have spurred 30 years ago.

I didn't realize that game has been played since the beginning of SkyTrain. I can think of the more recent examples of Lincoln Station being partially privately funded and Cameron Station sadly not even being roughed in for a future station. SMH.

[sweetnhappy]

Originally Posted by Spork

It was the boot and a swath of industrial land. It certainly might make sense in another 20 years when Joyce-Collingwood gets super busy from all of the new development in the area

Originally Posted by officedweller

Apparently Telus wouldn't contribute to the cost of the station.

Both of you are correct. I added to the diagram's text on Boundary-Kingsway that it was not only dependent on the Telus building (maybe could be worded better?)

As an aside, I should mention that I've been trying to locate additional reputable sources to cite (including verification of information presented on the diagram) for the Wikipedia articles on the Expo, Millennium, and SkyTrain articles but I've had limited success. Especially with the Millennium Line - almost every search I do gives me back almost nothing besides the original Wikipedia articles I'm trying to improve (or clones thereof).

[officedweller]

There may be some M-Line info here:

http://a100.gov.bc.ca/appsdata/epic/..._53_15491.html

But even much of that is out of date since those are planning documents (not as-builts)
- i.e. the preferred route map (only half of which is provided) shows a future Grandview Station @ Nanaimo, which was eventually dropped (no accommodation for it).

[sweetnhappy]

Originally Posted by officedweller

There may be some M-Line info here:

http://a100.gov.bc.ca/appsdata/epic/..._53_15491.html

But even much of that is out of date since those are planning documents (not as-builts)
- i.e. the preferred route map (only half of which is provided) shows a future Grandview Station @ Nanaimo, which was eventually dropped (no accommodation for it).

Whoever made that PDF FAILED hard! Didn't even get the full map on the page. Thanks for providing it anyway.

Yeah, from what I gathered reading another thread on that particular location is that with the current alignment there isn't a flat and/or straight enough place for it. And it was also dropped due to its proximity to Nanaimo station.

[officedweller]

Of interest - if you check out the interoperability/connectivity report at that link, you'll also see that the original orientation for Lougheed station was north-south, so that there would be a transfer-free ride from Coquitlam to New Westminster (and only 1 transfer to Surrey) - that was to further the Livable Region Strategic Plan to promote Surrey as another City Centre. Trains would have run from Coquitlam to VCC and Coquitlam to New Westminster - the loopback from New West to Production Way would have required the transfer.
But the phasing of the M-Line (with Coquitlam being a later phase) and a dispute with the owner of Lougheed Mall resulted in the station being east-west off of mall property. The current layout can still move trains in all directions, just not as easily.

[sweetnhappy]

A further update has been made to the diagram to reflect my findings from the UBC SkyTrain Group's website regarding the Broadway extension.

The primary difference in the route is between Great Northern Way and Kingsway-Main Street – the track keeps alongside the BNSF rail lines until just west of the Great Northern Way campus where it then heads into a tunnel portal and goes directly south along Prince Edward Street then finally turns west once it reaches Broadway (though the UBC SkyTrain website's maps suggest the alignment may be along 10th Avenue instead of Broadway because of the trunk sewer located there (based on a technical study from 1999/2000)).

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by sweetnhappy

A further update has been made to the diagram to reflect my findings from the UBC SkyTrain Group's website regarding the Broadway extension.

The primary difference in the route is between Great Northern Way and Kingsway-Main Street – the track keeps alongside the BNSF rail lines until just west of the Great Northern Way campus where it then heads into a tunnel portal and goes directly south along Prince Edward Street then finally turns west once it reaches Broadway (though the UBC SkyTrain website's maps suggest the alignment may be along 10th Avenue instead of Broadway because of the trunk sewer located there (based on a technical study from 1999/2000)).

The trunk sewer is under 8th Ave. (Broadway is 9th Ave.) - so it could be under Broadway, though I think 10th makes more sense from a construction disruption perspective).

Back in 2012, the roads and the future M-Line extension right-of-way on the GNW Campus were re-aligned - see city report here showing the revised allignment:

Originally Posted by officedweller

Re-allignment of a road and re-allignment of the proposed M-Line extension through the GNW Campus to allow for an office building - because the BNSF rail yards are staying put for the foreseeable future. This also shifts the future SkyTrain station location towards Thornton & Great Northern Way.

http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/...ents/ptec1.pdf

[sweetnhappy]

Originally Posted by officedweller

The trunk sewer is under 8th Ave. (Broadway is 9th Ave.) - so it could be under Broadway, though I think 10th makes more sense from a construction disruption perspective).

Back in 2012, the roads and the future M-Line extension right-of-way on the GNW Campus were re-aligned - see city report here showing the revised allignment:

You are just a treasure chest full of information. Updated accordingly.

[twoNeurons]

Does anyone know if lightrail has made an updated version of this diagramme to coincide with the Evergreen extension launch?