Canada Line sneak peak photo tour

[Pinion]

Great photos. Makes me want to get a job along the line just so I can use that part of Waterfront. The Seabus part is so ghetto in comparison.

[CLC]

I already like Canada Line stations much more than M-Line. Just hope that the estimated volume of passenger circulation is accurate that no stations will be too packed at any time of the day. (Canada Line station design I heard is claimed to accommodate peak hour volume)

[mr.x]

^ all stations in our region are designed to accommodate peak hour volume, not just the Canada Line. If a Canada Line official told you that, it's almost as if they're just trying to make their new line look better with so many people asking about short platforms (i've overheard so many conversations about that during open houses). Don't forget that they are advertising the line with the crush load capacity instead of the normal capacity that Translink and other agencies use.

The Sea Island stations look great and in my opinion are about equivalent to the average quality of the Millennium Line stations. However, I'm gonna have to say all the other Richmond elevated and Vancouver underground stations are below M-Line quality.

[officedweller]

Great pics! Thanks.

[SFUVancouver]

^ Thanks.

As mentioned in another thread the line is officially opening on August 17th.

Canada Line linking Vancouver and Richmond to open Aug. 17

By Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun

METRO VANCOUVER - The new Canada Line linking downtown Vancouver and Richmond will officially open to the public on Monday, Aug. 17, three weeks ahead of Labour Day and three months ahead of schedule.

Commuters can get a free ride on the 19-kilometre rapid transit line, which will run from 1 p.m. until 9 p.m. on opening day to accommodate any potential crowds outside the morning rush hour. No bikes or pets allowed on opening day.

The line will open for regular SkyTrain hours the next day, with the first train leaving Waterfront 4:50 a.m., Richmond Brighouse at 5:05 a.m. and the airport at 5:10 a.m.

The journey between Waterfront and Richmond-Brighouse takes about 26 minutes and costs a two-zone fare of $3.75 per single trip. Passengers heading to the airport will pay a surcharge of $2.50, bringing the fare to $6.25 per single trip but their tickets will be good for 90 minutes.

However, the surcharge won’t come into effect for at least the first four months of operation as TransLink has agreed to defer the Canada Line-YVR add fare until 2010.

The $2-billion Canada Line, which is part of the government’s $14-billion investment in public transit, is equivalent to a 10-lane road between Vancouver and Richmond and is expected to take 200,000 one-way trips off the road system. It was originally slated to open in November but the date was then pushed ahead to Labour Day.

It's now opening another three weeks earlier than planned even though work is still continuing on many of the 16 stations. The new line boasts trains that are longer, wider and have more capacity than trains on the existing two SkyTrain lines to accommodate passengers who will be hauling luggage to and from the airport.

The project, overseen by TransLink subsidiary Canada Line Rapid Transit Inc, has had its share of controversy since it was conceived four years ago. At the time, several municipalities opposed the project, saying it wasn't a priority project in Metro Vancouver and raising concerns about the way TransLink was funding future transportation projects.

The project, originally cited to cost $1.5 billion but in the end cost $2 billion, was nearly killed several times but survived.

It then caused a furore when those building it decided to build a cut-and-cover section along Cambie Street, where merchants complained the dug-up construction zone was prohibiting customers from accessing their shops and killing their businesses.

Several merchants moved out. Others, such maternity shop owner Susan Heyes, successfully sued TransLink, InTransitBC and the Canada Line Rapid Transit for causing a nuisance. She was awarded $600,000 in damages earlier this year.

Meanwhile, TransLink expects to have to subsidize the Canada Line for at least four years before ridership is high enough to reach a break-even point.

The cost is a large part of the reason for the financial crunch that has TransLink looking for as much as $450 million a year in additional funding to operate Metro Vancouver's transit system and its major roads. The rapid transit line was built as public-private partnerships, and in agreements with its partners, TransLink took on most of the "ridership risk."

That means TransLink will have to subsidize the until ridership hits forecast levels, which the regional transportation authority acknowledges will take years. The Canada Line isn't expected to see its projected 100,000 riders a day until 2013.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
http://www.vancouversun.com/Canada+L...013/story.html

[twoNeurons]

It would've been nice to have opened it on a weekend, like they did with the M-Line.

[deasine]

Well no, they opened it at the best time. This way: they get the least amount of people entering the system so that the system and its staff can get used to an "uncontrolled" public environment. The crowds will then build on as it approaches rush hour.

[SpongeG]

its only for 8 hours though? 1-9?

or is it going to be normal service all day and thats the time people can ride it?

[deasine]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

its only for 8 hours though? 1-9?

or is it going to be normal service all day and thats the time people can ride it?

Normal service begins the next day.

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

its only for 8 hours though? 1-9?

or is it going to be normal service all day and thats the time people can ride it?

Q & A re: Operating Hours on Opening Day

Q: Why does the fare-free day only run from 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm?

A: We have scheduled an opening ceremony in the morning. Following

the ceremony, we will start putting all of the Canada Line trains into

service and the system will be ready to accept passengers by 1:00 pm.

The last ride is scheduled for 9:00 pm so we have time to do necessary

maintenance along the entire line to get the system ready for regular

service on Tuesday morning.

Due to the special nature of opening day, we are anticipating larger

crowds than we would get during a normal day so we will have extra

shifts of staff working. We need to give them a break between the end of

opening day and the 4:00 am start on Tuesday morning.
Q & A re: Completing the Project Early

Q: How is it possible that you were able to complete construction and

open the Canada Line more than three months early?



A: A combination of factors has enabled us to complete ahead of schedule.

We were working with an excellent system design; we had very good

engineering; a great construction team; and very successful testing and

commissioning of the trains and control system.

In short, good planning and the hard work of about 2,000 individuals

have made it possible for us to finish ahead of schedule and on budget.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by deasine

Normal service begins the next day.

thats what i was thinking weird that they would do it on a monday instead of the sunday though

[deasine]

because there is fewer people. it is easier for them to service less people on opening.

[vansky]

Originally Posted by mr.x

Laval Station in Montreal, one of a two station expansion project built in 2006 and completed by SNC-Lavalin as well. I really like the airy space and the station layout, which is quite similar to City Hall Station, but it does look a bit dark and dingy:

by dimension, this one feels like sth u'd find in a a big city, but of course, vancouver is another aesthetic.

[officedweller]

I think there would be a general public backlash if "cathedrals" like that were built here.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by officedweller

I think there would be a general public backlash if "cathedrals" like that were built here.

Why would you build something like this anyway? The only thing I can think of is that the line had to be that far below street level because of other utilities or lines, but around the station area there was nothing in the way, so they just open it up.

[SpongeG]

maybe the city isn't as lucky to as Vancouver to impress people so they impress people with their stations - one step out of a vancouver station and people are impressed

imagine your first time in the city and youe xit at broadway station and the city with the mountains wow

[mr.x]

^ that is, only if they get out of Broadway....would have been nice to have the Canada Line elevated along the Cambie median. The views would be incredible. And then have it underground just before it reaches King Edward.

[SpongeG]

well really any station is good

but thats the most impressive for sure

[Mac Write]

Originally Posted by mr.x

^ that is, only if they get out of Broadway....would have been nice to have the Canada Line elevated along the Cambie median. The views would be incredible. And then have it underground just before it reaches King Edward.

And remove the Cambie trees, no way. Even I would have been out their protesting that.

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by Mac Write

And remove the Cambie trees, no way. Even I would have been out their protesting that.

You do realize that the Cambie trees were planted there in the mid-1990's right?

The Socred gov't had proposed to build an extension of SkyTrain down Cambie to Richmond for $900-million. It faced much opposition from NIMBY's, and they came together in a mob rule and forced the City of Vancouver to pass a bunch of bylaws that prevent an elevated line going down the street. They also made the city declare the median as a silly "Heritage Boulevard" and that's when all the trees were planted.

The project was canceled when the NDP came into government, in favour of building rapid transit in their own ridings in Burnaby and the Northeast sector and you know the rest...