Commercial–Broadway station

Commercial–Broadway (formerly two separate stations, Broadway and Commercial Drive) is a rapid transit station complex in Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain system in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It serves an elevated portion of the Expo Line and a below-grade portion of the Millennium Line. It is a major transit hub, with the third-highest number of boardings of any SkyTrain station, and a terminus of the region's busiest bus route, the 99 B-Line.

Commercial–Broadway
SkyTrain station
Commercial-Broadway station viewed from the east
General information
Location	2550 Commercial Drive, Vancouver
Coordinates	49°15′45″N 123°04′08″W / 49.26250°N 123.06889°W / 49.26250; -123.06889
Owned by	BC Transit, BC Ministry of Transportation, TransLink
Platforms	2 centre platforms 1 side platform
Tracks	4 (2 on each level)
Connections	99 B-Line
Construction
Structure type	Below-grade and elevated
Platform levels	2
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	BW, CM
Fare zone	1
History
Opened	December 11, 1985; 37 years ago (1985-12-11) (Expo Line) August 31, 2002; 21 years ago (2002-08-31) (Millennium Line)
Rebuilt	2002, 2008–2009, 2015–2019; 4 years ago (2019)
Previous names	Broadway (1985–2009) Commercial Drive (2002–2009)
Passengers
2022^[1]	5,369,800
Rank	3 of 53
Services
Preceding station TransLink Following station Main Street–Science World towards Waterfront Expo Line Nanaimo towards King George or Production Way–University VCC–Clark Terminus Millennium Line Renfrew towards Lafarge Lake–Douglas

Platform 4 trains travel outbound on the Expo Line.

Platform 5 provides real-time arrival information for inbound Expo Line trains.

Concourse located on the north side of East Broadway

Platforms 1 and 2 are located in the Grandview Cut and provide Millennium Line service.

The station was formed by merging the previously separate Broadway and Commercial Drive stations in 2009. In February 2019, a third platform was opened in the Broadway segment of the station to increase capacity for Waterfront station–bound Expo Line service in anticipation of increased station traffic resulting from various initiatives, including the opening of the Evergreen extension on the Millennium Line.

Location

Commercial–Broadway station is located just east of the intersection of East Broadway and Commercial Drive in East Vancouver, on the outskirts of Vancouver's Little Italy district. The Expo Line platform is elevated over East Broadway, while the Millennium Line platform is located below street level within the Grandview Cut south of Grandview Highway North. The two sections are connected via a pedestrian overpass that crosses East Broadway.

History

Commercial–Broadway station is a merger of two existing stations: Broadway station on the Expo Line and Commercial Drive station on the Millennium Line.

Broadway station opened on December 11, 1985, as part of the original Expo Line. It was designed by architecture firm Allen Parker and Associates, who were also responsible for Burrard station.^[2] The station later became one of the system's busiest.^[3] A nearby station, named Commercial Drive, opened in the Grandview Cut on August 31, 2002, as the temporary terminus for the Millennium Line with a transfer to Broadway station.^[4][5] In January 2006, the Millennium Line was extended westward by 0.75 kilometres (0.47 mi) to terminate at VCC–Clark station.^[6]

In November 2008, renovations began on Broadway station, including the addition of a new entrance on the south side of the station from 10th Avenue, the replacement and relocation of the station's elevator, and the refitting of the original metal mesh paneling on the ground level with glass.^[7] These upgrades were completed in October 2009.^[8]

Both stations were formally merged and renamed on September 7, 2009, due to concern over potential confusion with Broadway–City Hall station of the then-new Canada Line.^[9] Commercial Drive became platforms 1 and 2 of the new station, while Broadway became platforms 3 and 4.^[10]

Between August 31, 2002, and October 22, 2016, the station was one of only four in the world where the same metro line (in this case, the Millennium Line) ran through a station twice in a pretzel configuration, the others being the Serdika and Serdika II stations on the Sofia Metro in Sofia, Bulgaria; the Monument Metro station on the Tyne and Wear Metro in Newcastle upon Tyne, England; and Voorweg RandstadRail station on the Randstadrail in The Hague, Netherlands.^{[citation needed]}

Upgrades

In conjunction with the Evergreen Extension project, major upgrades at the station began in the second quarter of 2015 to accommodate increased passenger volumes and enhance the passenger environment. Originally scheduled to be completed by mid-2017,^[11] these upgrades were completed and opened to the public on February 2, 2019.^[12][13] The upgrades include:^[14]

• A new platform (platform 5) to the east of platforms 3 and 4, which improves passenger traffic on those platforms by providing extra platform capacity for Waterfront station–bound Expo trains in anticipation of increased traffic at the station owing to initiatives such as the opening of the Evergreen stations on the Millennium Line.^[15] Waterfront-bound trains at this station open their doors on both sides, allowing all-door boarding and alighting.^[16]
• Added weather protection and amenities for bus passenger waiting areas.
• Access improvements within the station, including upgraded passageways, vertical movement, and entrances.
• A new pedestrian plaza for the portion of the station south of Broadway.
• A new bike parkade which accommodates up to 42 bicycles.

Services

• Commercial–Broadway station is a major connection point for TransLink bus routes that run along Broadway, including the 9 bus and the 99 B-Line, an articulated express bus with limited stops and direct access to the University of British Columbia.
• Prior to the upgrading of Broadway station between 2008 and 2009, the station contained the "Broadway Smoke Shoppe", "The Exchange", and the "Vancouver Ticket Centre", three small convenience and retail outlets introduced as part of a retail program established with the opening of SkyTrain in 1986.^{[citation needed]}

Station information

Station layout

T	Side platform; doors will open on the right
	Platform 5 Inbound Platform 3	← ■ Expo Line towards Waterfront (Main Street–Science World)
	Island platform; doors will open on the left
	Platform 4 Outbound	■ Expo Line towards King George and Production Way–University (Nanaimo) →
S	Street (North)	Commercial Drive, Broadway (north) entrances Compass vending machines, ATM, shops, fare gates
	Street (South)	Broadway (south), 10th Avenue entrances Compass vending machines, fare gates
T	Platform 1 Inbound	← ■ Millennium Line towards VCC–Clark (Terminus)
	Island platform; doors will open on the left
	Platform 2 Outbound	■ Millennium Line towards Lafarge Lake–Douglas (Renfrew) →
X		Restricted area

Entrances

• Commercial Drive and Broadway (north) entrance  : located at the northeast corner of Broadway and Commercial Drive intersection, opened in 2002 in conjunction with the opening of Millennium Line. Passenger can enter the station from both the westbound (north) side of Broadway and southbound side of Commercial Drive. This entrance provides both up/down escalators and elevators to all 4 platforms, although both escalators serving platforms 1 and 2 may turn to the peak direction of travel during rush hours.
• Broadway (south) entrance  : the original entrance for the station, located at the southeast corner of the intersection, north end of platforms 3 and 4. The entrance opens toward the eastbound (south) side of Broadway. Escalators and elevators connect the street level with platforms 3 and 4. To access platforms 1 and 2, passenger must cross Broadway or use the overhead walkway to the Commercial Drive entrance.
• 10th Avenue entrance  : the newest entrance for the station, opened in 2009. The entrance is located at the south end of platforms 3 and 4, sharing the station house with Broadway entrance.

Transit connections

See also: List of bus routes in Metro Vancouver

 

99 B-Line with service to UBC

Bus routes:^[17]

• The following routes travel westbound on Broadway, with stop in front of the Broadway (north) entrance of the station:
  • 9 UBC / Alma / To Granville
  • 99 B-Line UBC
  • N9 Downtown NightBus

• Transit service travelling eastbound on Broadway is located near the Broadway (south) entrance:
  • 9 Boundary
  • 99 B-Line To Boundary B-Line
  • N9 Coquitlam Station NightBus

• The following routes travel southbound on Commercial Drive, with stops on both north and south side of Broadway intersection:
  • 20 Victoria / Victoria to 54th
  • N20 Victoria NightBus

• Northbound transit service on Commercial Drive stops north of the Broadway intersection only, near the Commercial Drive entrance:
  • 20 Downtown
  • N20 Downtown NightBus
  • Drop off for 9 and 99 Commercial Broadway Station

References

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Commercial–Broadway station.

1. . tableau.com. TransLink. April 27, 2023. Archived from the original on May 15, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
2. "From bright, airy to almost invisible". The Vancouver Sun. December 11, 1985. p. F8. Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Don Klimchuk (March 23, 2004). "2003 Transit Ridership Data". Vancouver City Council. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
4. "Millennium Line SkyTrain stations". The Province. August 25, 2002. p. A17. Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Luba, Frank; Anderson, Charlie (September 1, 2002). "New train to cut travel time in half". The Province. p. A18. Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "New station offers UBC transit option". The Vancouver Sun. January 6, 2006. p. B1. Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
7. . TransLink. November 4, 2008. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
8. . TransLink. October 16, 2009. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
9. "Two SkyTrain stations get one new name". Buzzer Blog. August 27, 2009. Retrieved August 29, 2009.
10. "Commercial Broadway Upgrade Project" (PDF). TransLink. August 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
11. Hewitt, Jessica (August 26, 2016). . The Buzzer Blog. TransLink. Archived from the original on September 2, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
12. "Commercial–Broadway Station Upgrades". translink.ca. TransLink. from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
13. Chan, Kenneth (January 21, 2019). "Commercial-Broadway Station's new additional platform to open on February 2". Daily Hive. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
14. . TransLink. October 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-12-22. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
15. . translink.ca. TransLink. Archived from the original on January 5, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
16. "All-door boarding coming to Commercial–Broadway SkyTrain station!". The Buzzer. TransLink. January 22, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
17. TransLink (October 2018). Commercial–Broadway Station (PDF) (Map). Retrieved January 23, 2019.