Expo Line

Infobox rail line
name = Expo Line

---

caption = Mark II SkyTrain Cars passing over Clark Drive
type = Rapid transit
system = Vancouver SkyTrain
start = Waterfront
end = King George
stations = 20
open = 1985 for Expo 86
close =
owner = TransLink
operator = TransLink
character =
stock = Mk I and Mk II
linelength = 28.9 km (18.0 mi)
tracklength =
notrack = 2
gauge = RailGauge|sg
el = Linear motor
speed = 80 km/h (50 mph)
elevation = |

The Expo Line is the oldest line in the SkyTrain rapid transit system in Metro Vancouver, Canada. The line is owned and operated by TransLink, and links Surrey with downtown Vancouver.

The Expo Line attracted more than 160,000 passengers daily in 2003. It is expected to carry more than 210,000 daily in 2010 - the year when 41 additional SkyTrain cars go into service and the first full year of revenue service from the brand new Canada Line.

The line was simply known as "SkyTrain" from its launch in 1986 until 2002, as it was the only line on the system during this time. It was given its present name in 2002 to differentiate it from Millennium Line, the second line on the SkyTrain system which was opened that year. It was named for Expo 86, the world's fair that Vancouver hosted in 1986. It is designated blue on route maps.

The Expo and Millennium Lines share the same track alignment from Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver to Columbia Station in New Westminster. From there, the line splits, with the Expo Line crossing the Fraser River to Surrey.

History

ICTS demonstration project

What is now known as the SkyTrain was initially a demonstration project in order to showcase the newly developed linear induction propulsion technology to Vancouver and other prospective cities throughout the world. Although the Scarborough RT was completed before the Expo Line in 1985, the ICTS demonstration was the first system to use SkyTrain technology. The Intermediate Capacity Transit System (ICTS) demonstration was built using the Advanced Rapid Transit (ART) technology originally developed by the Urban Transportation Development Corporation (now part of Bombardier). Construction began in 1981 and was completed in early 1983. The demonstration project consisted of just one station and about one kilometer of guideway with no switches. This original station was not "named" during this time as it was the only station, but it is now known as Main Street-Science World Station.

As it was a showcase station, Main Street-Science World has a different design from other stations on the Expo Line that came after it. For example, glass is featured in the station's design, but is missing from other future Expo Line stations (except Stadium-Chinatown Station, since it was tied to the Expo grounds). Having preceded other stations on the line by four years, Main Street-Science World is visibly older, and signs of rust and wear are showing.

The guideway for the showcase line was a straight section east of the station running over Terminal Avenue. It ended across from where the former Brussels Chocolate factory once was, located on Terminal. There was no guideway west of the station as the track ended immediately at the west end of the platform where the VanCity head office now stands.

The ICTS guideway was built differently from the rest of the Expo Line. The columns were different especially with how they are joined with the guideway. The walkway between the two tracks is of a different but also inferior design from the Expo Line, and it is showing signs of rust that come with the older age of the guideway.

There was only a single two car train running on the North Westbound track. After passengers boarded, it ran East toward the end of the test guideway. At the Eastern end, the train would stop and after a pause, reverse directions and return to the station. Since there were no switches, only the Northern track was used and the train would run back and forth on the same track. There was also a single car mock up parked on the South platform, what is now the Eastbound platform. This car was not operational. The two car train and single car mock up were of a different and unique design to all the production Mark I trains. The red tail lights were located on the bottom beside the headlights, instead of at the top. The end door and window were of a different design. As well, there were black panels on either side of the door, that are not found in the production trains. The whereabouts of these trains is unknown.

The ICTS guideway was retrofitted during the construction of the Millennium Line in order to accommodate the heavier weight MK II cars. This was done by adding additional steel reinforced concrete beams to the columns where they support the guideway. These are clearly visible when driving or walking on Terminal Avenue under the guideway. With the exception of the original ICTS guideway, no other part of the Expo Line required retrofitting for strength in order to accommodate the MK II cars.

Original revenue segment

Following the demonstration project, the construction of the line between Vancouver and New Westminster got under way in the mid-1980s. In late 1985, SkyTrain began providing free weekend service from Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver to New Westminster Station, a few months before Expo 86 opened. Full service began on 3 January 1986.

During Expo 86, special shuttle trains ran from a third track at Stadium-Chinatown Station (where there was a connection to the monorail serving the main site of the world's fair) to the Canadian pavilion at Waterfront Station. Waterfront Station was divided in two, with a fence going down the centre of the platform. One side of the platform was used exclusively for the shuttles, and was accessible only from the Canada Place entrance, while the other side was only for revenue service and was only accessible from the main entrance to the east.Fact|date=December 2007

First extension

In 1989, the line was extended to Columbia Station, then in 1990 to Scott Road in Surrey, crossing the Fraser River via the purpose-built, cable-stayed "Skybridge."

econd extension

Finally, in 1994, the line was extended deeper into Surrey to its current terminus at King George Station. These three newest Surrey stations have a drastically different look from the other stations on the Expo Line that pre-date them.

Future extensions

On January 14th, 2008, plans were announced to extend the Expo Line by 2020, adding a total of six kilometres of track east to Guildford, south on 152nd Street, and south-east on the Fraser Highway to 168th Street. Other future extensions (by 2030) include continuing along the Fraser Highway to Langley Centre in Langley, as well as a separate branch from Surrey Central south along King George Highway as far as 64th Avenue.cite web|url=http://www.bclocalnews.com/surrey_area/langleytimes/news/Langley_SkyTrain_set_for_2030.html|title=Langley SkyTrain set for 2030|publisher="Langley Times"|author=Jeff Nagel|date=2008-01-16|accessdate=2008-02-21] Details of this extension were not made public at the time of the announcement. At the same time, plans were announced for the expansion of all stations on the Expo Line to hold 8-car Mark I trains and 6-car Mark II trains.

Route description

The Expo Line travels underground from Waterfront to Stadium-Chinatown Stations, mainly through the Dunsmuir Tunnel, a tunnel previously used by the Canadian Pacific Railway to connect its mainline tracks along Burrard Inlet to its former yard on False Creek.

The line is elevated from Stadium-Chinatown to New Westminster, except for short at-grade sections between Nanaimo and Joyce Stations in east Vancouver, and around the SkyTrain yards at Edmonds Station in Burnaby.

The line travels underground for a short stretch between New Westminster and Columbia. Just east of Columbia Station is a junction with the newer Millennium Line. The line then crosses the Fraser River to Surrey via the Skybridge, and is elevated for the rest of its run to its terminus at King George. The track continues for about a block east of the King George station; this spur is currently used for parking unused cars, but is designed to hook up to any future eastern expansion of the Expo Line.

From just west of Nanaimo Station all the way to New Westminster Station, the Expo Line follows BC Electric's former Central Park Line, which carried interurbans between Vancouver and New Westminster from 1890 to the early 1950s.

References

External links

* [http://www.translink.bc.ca TransLink] - The organization that owns and operates SkyTrain