Vancouver SkyTrain Evergreen extension was officially opened on December 2, linking Coquitlam, Port Moody, Burnaby and Vancouver. The opening celebration at Coquitlam Central Station was launched with an inaugural ride by the representatives of the project’s partners along the Evergreen extension.
“The completion of the greatly anticipated Evergreen extension has been made possible by the efforts of so many people, and seeing the trains go into service today is good news for the province of B.C. By adding Evergreen to Metro Vancouver’s SkyTrain system, we’re able to provide transit riders with more travel options and get people to their destination faster. This demonstrates our government’s commitment to making the daily commute and quality of life better for British Columbians,” Christy Clark, Premier of British Columbia said.
For this project, Thales has provided the driverless train control system. This success story spans over three decades, since SkyTrain Expo Line was inaugurated on December 11th 1985, with Thales’ Communication-Based Train Control system, SelTrac™, the first of its kind in the world. Currently, SelTrac™ rail signalling equips 100 per cent of the SkyTrain network, including the Canada Line.
The USD 1.431 billion project has been delivered between USD 70 million and USD 85 million under the budget set in 2008.
The extension will carry 70,000 people per day by 2021, reducing traffic congestion in the rapidly growing cities of Coquitlam, Port Moody and Burnaby.
The Government of Canada, the Government of British Columbia and TransLink funded the project. Now that construction is complete, TransLink will be responsible for operating the extension.
The 11-km Evergreen extension runs fully separated from traffic. With seven stations that include bus connections, parking and bicycle facilities, this is a significant new link to Metro Vancouver’s SkyTrain system.
Photo 1: Government of British Columbia
Photo 2: Thales
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