Millennium Line

The Millennium Line is the second line of the SkyTrain rapid transit system in the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada. The line is owned and operated by BC Rapid Transit Company, a subsidiary of TransLink, and links the cities of Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam and Port Moody. The line was opened in 2002 and was named in recognition of the new millennium.

Millennium Line
A pair of trains at Brentwood Town Centre station
Overview
Owner	TransLink (South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority)
Locale	Metro Vancouver, British Columbia
Termini	VCC–Clark Lafarge Lake–Douglas
Stations	17 (6 under construction)
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	SkyTrain
Operator(s)	British Columbia Rapid Transit Company
Rolling stock	ART Mark II, 2 cars per trainset
Daily ridership	288,000 (2022)^[a]^[1]
History
Opened	January 7, 2002; 22 years ago (2002-01-07)
Technical
Line length	25.5 km (15.8 mi)^[not verified in body]
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	Third rail (Linear motor)
Operating speed	80 km/h (50 mph)

Route

v t e Millennium Line
Legend
potential extension to UBC   Arbutus   South Granville   Oak–VGH       Broadway–City Hall               Canada Line   to Richmond & Airport │to Waterfront     Mount Pleasant   Great Northern Way–Emily Carr     future extension (under construction)     VCC–Clark           Expo Line to Waterfront               Commercial–Broadway            Renfrew   Rupert     Hwy 1 (Trans-Canada Highway)   Vancouver Zone 1 Burnaby Zone 2   Gilmore   Brentwood Town Centre   Holdom   Sperling–Burnaby Lake   Lake City Way   Production Way–University         Lougheed Town Centre         Expo Line     Burnaby Zone 2 Coquitlam Zone 3     Burquitlam   Coquitlam Port Moody     Queens         Moody Centre         West Coast Express   to Mission │ to Waterfront           Inlet Centre   Port Moody Coquitlam   Falcon       Vehicle Storage Facility     potential extension to Port Coquitlam   Coquitlam Central      Lincoln   Lafarge Lake–Douglas

The Millennium Line operates from VCC–Clark station in Vancouver to Lafarge Lake–Douglas station in Coquitlam. The line is elevated to Burquitlam station, where it then goes through a 2-kilometre (1.2 mi) bored tunnel to the city of Port Moody. In Port Moody, the line runs at grade level, rising to cross railway tracks. From Coquitlam Central station, the line is elevated to the terminus at Lafarge Lake–Douglas station.

When the Evergreen Extension opened in late 2016, eastbound trains crossed the westbound tracks to access the new northernmost platform (Platform 3) at Lougheed Town Centre station. Trains then operated left-track running to a crossover junction just before Burquitlam Station, where trains crossed back to right-track running. Westbound Millennium Line trains crossed over to left-hand running just south of Burquitlam station, which allowed them to access westbound Platform 2 at Lougheed Town Centre station. This unusual service design allowed same-platform interchange for Expo Line passengers arriving at Lougheed Town Centre and continuing west towards VCC–Clark station on the Millennium Line.

On June 25, 2018, service patterns were changed to eliminate all left-track running. This change meant passengers arriving westbound at Lougheed on the Expo Line who wished to continue towards VCC–Clark could either change platforms at Lougheed or remain on their Expo Line train until its terminus at the next station, Production Way–University, where they could make a same-platform transfer to a westbound Millennium Line train. For passengers arriving eastbound at Lougheed, transfers between eastbound Millennium and Expo Line trains were now same-platform. TransLink stated the change to traditional right-track running would provide faster and more reliable trips for passengers as the many track changes the initial service pattern required had resulted in delays.^[2][3]

History

Early proposals

When the Expo Line was opened in 1985, an extension to Lougheed Mall in east Burnaby was proposed. The most likely junction point for the spur to Lougheed Mall would have been from Royal Oak station, up Edmonds Street to Lougheed Mall, although early SkyTrain route maps also suggested an extension northeast from New Westminster.^[4][5] Neither plan was realized, although the extension of Expo Line tracks to Columbia Station in 1989 and the completion of the SkyBridge to Surrey in 1990 resulted in a short spur east of Columbia station, which was later incorporated into the new Millennium Line.

Phase I: Columbia to Commercial Drive (2002)

 

Commercial Drive station under construction in September 2001

In 1995, the British Columbia government announced that an entirely new line, a street-level light rail line, would be built along Broadway and Lougheed Highway to Lougheed Mall (served by Lougheed Town Centre station), as the first phase of the "T"-Line^[6] (one of three Intermediate Capacity Transit System lines) outlined in the Metro Vancouver's Livable Region Strategic Plan that extended into Coquitlam.^[7] An 18-month review of rapid transit was scheduled and started in January 1998 but was cut short by the government's announcement of its choice of Bombardier's technology in June 1998.^[8] This meant that the first phase of the line would have to connect to the existing Expo Line to use its maintenance yard. Connecting the two lines at Broadway station was deemed impracticable, so the lines were connected in New Westminster. Switches to the Millennium Line were installed on the Expo Line just east of Columbia station. Expo Line service was reduced to a single track over the Skybridge during the installation of these switches.

The Millennium Line opened for revenue service on January 7, 2002 (a preview for SkyTrain passengers took place on the prior two days),^[9] with trains operating between Waterfront station on the Expo Line and Braid station in eastern New Westminster.

For the second phase, service was extended to Commercial Drive station (since merged with Broadway station to form Commercial–Broadway) on August 31, 2002 (with full integration with the bus network occurring on September 3, 2002).^[10][11]

Lake City Way and extension to VCC–Clark (2003–2006)

Lake City Way station, located between Sperling–Burnaby Lake and Production Way–University stations, opened on November 21, 2003.^[12] Three years later, the line was extended to its present terminus, VCC–Clark station, on January 6, 2006.^[13] The Millennium Line was now completed at a cost of $1.2 billion, $40 million under budget.^[8]: 51

In 2007, the non-interlined portion of the Millennium Line served an average of 70,000 passengers per day. Of these, 14,000 passengers arrived on trains travelling from Expo Line stations west of Columbia station, and 7,000 transferred from the Surrey section of the Expo Line.^[14] In 2009, it was estimated that ridership had grown to at least 80,000 passengers per day.^[15]

Initially, the Millennium Line service followed the Expo Line from Waterfront to Columbia stations, then looped back into Vancouver via the new route, passing through Commercial–Broadway again, at a different platform, and terminating at VCC–Clark station. After a reconfiguration on October 22, 2016, in preparation for the opening of the Evergreen Extension, the Millennium Line ran between VCC–Clark station in the west to Lougheed Town Centre station in the east. Transfers to the Expo Line were now made possible at Production Way–University and Lougheed Town Centre stations. Braid and Sapperton stations were reassigned to the Expo Line.^[16]

Phase II: Evergreen Extension (2016)

Main article: Evergreen Extension

The second phase of the Millennium Line was to be an extension from Lougheed Mall to Coquitlam (then known as the Port Moody–Coquitlam (PMC) Line),^[17] which would have provided a "one-seat ride" from Coquitlam to VCC–Clark station. A short spur^[18] and switches to the PMC Line were installed to the east of Lougheed Town Centre station and a third platform was roughed-in in anticipation of the extension. Phase II was placed on hold following a change in provincial government.

A SkyTrain extension from Lougheed Town Centre station to Coquitlam Town Centre was proposed when the original Millennium Line was built and the necessary junction tracks for such an extension were built at the station during its initial construction. At one point prior to 2008, the mode planned for the extension was changed to light rail instead of SkyTrain, which meant that the junction tracks would have remained unused. However, in February 2008, plans reverted to the use of SkyTrain technology for the extension, to facilitate higher ridership, shorten travel times and to integrate seamlessly with the existing SkyTrain network. As a result, the junction tracks and roughed-in third platform at Lougheed Town Centre station were used as part of the Evergreen Extension.^[19]

Construction of the Evergreen Extension began in 2013 and was completed in late 2016. The extension opened for revenue service on December 2, 2016.^[20][21]

Expansion plans

Broadway extension

 

A map showing the extension along Broadway in relation to existing lines and surface streets

 

Staging pit for the tunnel boring machine at the site of Great Northern Way–Emily Carr station in April 2022

 

"Traffic decks" were built atop station construction sites to avoid road closures.

On March 16, 2018, the provincial government approved the construction of the "Broadway Subway Project", an initiative which will extend the Millennium Line west to Arbutus Street and add six new stations.^[22] The extension will be 5.7 kilometres (3.5 mi) long, all but 700 metres (2,300 ft) of which will be underground, and cost an estimated $2.83 billion. Originally scheduled for a 2025 opening, the expected opening was pushed back to early 2026 in November 2022.^[23][24][25] The delay was caused by a labour dispute involving concrete workers which started in June 2022.^[25]

While six new stations are confirmed for the Broadway extension, one will become part of the existing Broadway–City Hall Canada Line station, which is scheduled to be upgraded as part of the project:^[b][26][27]

• Great Northern Way–Emily Carr station, at Great Northern Way and Thornton Street adjacent to the Emily Carr University
• Mount Pleasant station, at Main Street and East Broadway
• Broadway–City Hall station, at Cambie Street and West Broadway. The existing Broadway–City Hall station on the Canada Line, originally designed with a "knock-out" panel to accommodate a connection to a future Millennium Line extension, will be upgraded and connected to the extension. An adjacent development was required by the City of Vancouver to provide space for an additional entrance to the Millennium Line portion of the station.
• Oak–VGH station, at Laurel Street and West Broadway near Vancouver General Hospital (VGH)
• South Granville station, at Granville Street and West Broadway
• Arbutus station, at Arbutus Street and West Broadway. The 99 B-Line bus route, which follows much of the extension's route, will be truncated to terminate at this station.

Construction

Preliminary work on the extension began on February 19, 2019, with the installation of trolley poles and wires on 12th Avenue between Arbutus and Granville Streets that were required in order to reroute trolley buses off of Broadway for the duration of the construction of the subway.^[28][29] On June 22, 2020, trolleybuses were removed from Broadway.^[30] The provincial government initially had a plan to have a contractor selected by April 2020 to allow for construction to begin later that year.^[31] On July 17, 2020, the provincial Ministry of Transportation announced that Acciona Infrastructure, a Spanish conglomerate, and Ghella, an Italian company, would be in charge of construction.^[32] Demolition of buildings, to make room for station entrances and construction staging areas, began in February 2021.^[33]

Major construction on the extension began on May 13, 2021.^[23][34] "Traffic decks" began to be installed over Mount Pleasant, Broadway–City Hall, Oak–VGH, South Granville, and Arbutus stations, to avoid closing Broadway while station construction takes place underneath. Construction of the elevated guideway at the eastern end of the extension began on December 13, 2021. This 700-metre-long (2,300 ft) guideway is the only above-ground portion of the extension, and connects the existing VCC–Clark station to a tunnel portal adjacent to the Emily Carr University of Art and Design.^[35]

The tunnel boring machines for the project were delivered to Vancouver between April and June 2022. Two identical machines, each 6 metres (20 ft) in diameter and 150 metres (490 ft) in length, would dig about 18 metres (59 ft) of tunnel per day, at a depth of 15 to 20 metres (49 to 66 ft) below the surface.^[36][37] The two machines were given the names Elsie and Phyllis; the first machine, Elsie, began tunneling the eastbound tunnel from Great Northern Way–Emily Carr station in October 2022, with Phyllis beginning work on the westbound tunnel in late November. Both machines had reached Broadway–City Hall station by May 26, 2023,^[38][39] and South Granville station by February 8, 2024. Tunnel boring is expected to complete by the second quarter of 2024.^[40]

University of British Columbia extension

On January 14, 2008, the Government of British Columbia announced a commitment to the expansion of the Millennium Line to the University of British Columbia (UBC) by 2020 as part of a $14-billion transit spending package to address global warming. It was not clear what route the new line would take, but it was hinted that there would be less use of cut-and-cover tunnelling to minimize disruption to businesses along Broadway and avoid the same problems seen during the Canada Line construction along Cambie Street.^[41] This expansion failed to materialize.

On February 15, 2019, the TransLink Mayors' Council again approved an extension of the line to the UBC campus, although funding for this continuation past Arbutus Street had not yet been secured.^[42] In 2022, TransLink unveiled a proposed route for the extension: the line would continue west under Broadway, with stations at Macdonald and Alma Streets. It would then deviate slightly north to a station serving the redevelopment at the Jericho Lands. In the University Endowment Lands, the line would either take an elevated route following University Boulevard, or a tunnelled route underneath the University Golf Club, to get to UBC at a station under the University Boulevard bus loop.^[43] The station locations at Macdonald Street, Alma Street, and the Jericho Lands were approved by the Vancouver City Council in March 2022.^[44]

Port Coquitlam extension

When the Evergreen Extension was built, the first few metres of track and a track switch to allow for an eventual eastward extension to Port Coquitlam were built at Coquitlam Central station. This would create two branches where trains would alternate between going east to Lafarge Lake–Douglas station or to Port Coquitlam. A feasibility study was conducted, started during early 2020 and running for about six months. Port Coquitlam mayor Brad West, the Port Coquitlam city council, and the Coquitlam City Council all voiced support for the extension. However, as of 2022, no funding had been secured nor a formal plan created.^[45]

Stations

Station	City	Connections	Location
VCC–Clark	Vancouver		East 6th Avenue at Clark Drive
Commercial–Broadway			Commercial Drive at Broadway
Renfrew			Grandview Highway at Renfrew Street
Rupert			Broadway at Rupert Street
Gilmore	Burnaby		Lougheed Highway at Gilmore Avenue
Brentwood Town Centre			Lougheed Highway at Willingdon Avenue
Holdom			Lougheed Highway at Holdom Avenue
Sperling–Burnaby Lake			Lougheed Highway at Sperling Avenue; near Burnaby Lake
Lake City Way			Lougheed Highway at Lake City Way
Production Way–University		SFU	Lougheed Highway at Production Way
Lougheed Town Centre			Lougheed Highway at Austin; adjacent to the City of Lougheed shopping centre
Burquitlam	Coquitlam		Clarke Road at Smith Avenue
Moody Centre	Port Moody		Barnet Highway at Williams Street
Inlet Centre			Barnet Highway at Ioco Road
Coquitlam Central	Coquitlam		Barnet Highway at Pinetree Way
Lincoln			Pinetree Way at Lincoln Avenue
Lafarge Lake–Douglas			Pinetree Way at Guilford Way; adjacent to Lafarge Lake

See also

• SkyTrain (Vancouver) rolling stock

Notes

1. Combined with Expo Line
2. All locations are approximate, with final station locations within one block of the given intersections.

References

1. "TransLink 2022 Transit Performance Review" (PDF). TransLink. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
2. "New platforms for Millennium Line at Lougheed Town Centre Station starting on June 25". The Buzzer blog. June 11, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
3. "Platform change at Lougheed SkyTrain Station begins Monday". June 22, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
4. Charles, Michael (May 14, 2019). "A SkyTrain historical footnote: The Edmonds-Cariboo extension". orangeraisin.wordpress.com. from the original on July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
5. Skytrain Extension To Coquitlam Transit Planning Study Summary Report (Report). BC Transit SkyTrain Project. September 25, 1986.
6. "Richmond-Airport-Vancouver Rapid Transit Project/Northeast Sector Rapid Transit Alternatives". burnaby.civicweb.net. City of Burnaby. April 23, 2003. Retrieved February 24, 2016.^{[permanent dead link]}
7. (PDF). pmh1project.com. GVRD. April 28, 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
8. (PDF). translink.ca. TransLink. November 20, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 10, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
9. . translink.ca. TransLink. December 28, 2001. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
10. . translink.ca. TransLink. June 20, 2002. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
11. "The Millennium Line turns 10!". The Buzzer blog. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
12. . translink.ca. TransLink. November 20, 2003. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
13. . translink.ca. TransLink. Archived from the original on November 10, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
14. . Translink. August 3, 2007. Archived from the original on October 27, 2009.
15. "SkyTrain in Vancouver". UBC SkyTrain Group. 2009.
16. "Changes Coming to SkyTrain October 22". TransLink. September 19, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
17. (PDF). fin.gov.bc.ca. Government of British Columbia. June 4, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 25, 2022. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
18. Stone, Todd (December 19, 2013). . news.gov.bc.ca. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
19. (PDF). BC Ministry of Transportation. February 19, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 2, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
20. "Delayed Evergreen Line to open Dec. 2". CBC News. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
21. Brown, Scott (November 7, 2016). "TransLink will open Evergreen Line on Dec. 2". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
22. . translink.ca. TransLink. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
23. Chan, Kenneth (May 13, 2021). "Major construction now officially underway on $2.8-billion Broadway Subway". Daily Hive. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
24. "FAQ". Broadway Subway Project. Government of British Columbia. August 22, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
25. Chan, Kenneth (November 24, 2022). "Broadway Subway opening delayed to 2026". Daily Hive Vancouver. from the original on November 25, 2022. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
26. Chan, Kenneth (July 3, 2019). "These are the proposed station names for SkyTrain's Broadway Extension". Daily Hive. from the original on July 4, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
27. Chan, Kenneth (March 22, 2018). "These are the 6 stations of the Broadway Subway in Vancouver (VISUALS)". Daily Hive. from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
28. "Early Works – Broadway Subway". Government of British Columbia. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
29. Chan, Kenneth (March 25, 2019). "TransLink releases map of trolley reroutes during Broadway Subway construction". Daily Hive. from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
30. Lazaruk, Susan (June 10, 2020). "TransLink taking trolley buses off busy Broadway for next five years". Vancouver Sun. from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
31. Chan, Kenneth (February 15, 2019). "BC launches bidding process for $2.8-billion Broadway Subway to Arbutus". Daily Hive. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
32. Little, Simon (July 17, 2020). "B.C. government picks construction group to build Vancouver's Broadway subway". globalnews.ca. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
33. Chan, Kenneth (February 2, 2021). "Demolition begins ahead of Broadway Subway's major construction work". Daily Hive. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
34. "Broadway Subway Project reaches major construction phase". BC Gov News | Transportation and Infrastructure. May 13, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
35. Chan, Kenneth (December 13, 2021). "Construction begins on Broadway Subway's elevated track". Daily Hive. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
36. Little, Simon (April 23, 2022). "Broadway subway: Tunneling to start this summer as machine parts arrive in Vancouver". Global News. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
37. Menteth, Thames (June 16, 2022). "Final TBM parts arrive for Vancouver's Broadway Subway". Ground Engineering. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
38. Chan, Kenneth (May 26, 2023). "New subway's second tunnel-boring machine reaches Broadway-City Hall Station". Daily Hive. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
39. Rush, Jim (May 30, 2023). "Second TBM Breaks Through at Vancouver's Broadway-City Hall Station". Tunnel Business Magazine. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
40. Chan, Kenneth (February 10, 2024). "Second tunnel boring machine for Broadway Subway reaches South Granville Station". Daily Hive. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
41. Palmer, Vaughn (January 15, 2008). . Vancouver Sun. CanWest MediaWorks Publications. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved January 15, 2008.
42. "Metro Vancouver mayors vote yes on SkyTrain extension to UBC". CBC News. February 15, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
43. McDonald, Elizabeth (May 2, 2022). "TransLink presents two potential routes for SkyTrain to UBC project". The Ubyssey. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
44. Britten, Liam (March 30, 2022). "Vancouver council picks spots for 3 stations on proposed SkyTrain extension to UBC". CBC News. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
45. "Port Coquitlam to launch feasibility study on Skytrain Extension". Daily Hive. November 28, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2019.

External links

Template:Attached KML/Millennium Line

KML is from Wikidata

• TransLink – The organization that owns SkyTrain