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177-563: The Expo Line is the oldest 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 , New Westminster and Surrey . The line was originally known only as "the SkyTrain" from its inception in 1985 until 2002, as it

354-492: A Quester Tangent brake assurance monitor (BAM) that controls propulsion and braking systems. The VCCs have a command-line-console, but normally the trains are controlled through a system known as the SMC, which also provides scheduling. All commands from the SMC are verified to be safe by the VCC before execution. However if the SMC fails, the system can still be operated through the VCC. This

531-517: A 2.5-diamond-rated hotel, The Inn at the Quay , a large condominium tower and townhouse complex was built, accessed from the older Columbia Street area of downtown by an overpass. The impetus provided by this project has spilled over onto the inland side of the rail tracks, with new tower developments focusing on the area southwest of 8th Street (the area known formerly as "the Swamp" and Chinatown). As of July 2007,

708-642: A 4-kilometre (2.5 mi) second extension, or Phase III, began in late 1991 and opened on March 28, 1994, adding three stations in Surrey 's City Centre district in Whalley . Private partnerships with surrounding businesses in the community led to the then-new stations having a different appearance from the rest of the Expo Line. This extension set one of the Expo Line's current eastern terminus at King George station. It also added Gateway and Surrey Central stations. In 2002,

885-490: A 9.75-metre-tall (32.0 ft) tin soldier which was given the title of the world's largest by the Guinness Book of World Records back in 2002. In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada , New Westminster had a population of 78,916 living in 36,099 of its 37,737 total private dwellings, a change of 11.2% from its 2016 population of 70,996. With a land area of 15.62 km (6.03 sq mi), it had

1062-592: A Burnaby factory. Similar trains are used in Kuala Lumpur's Kelana Jaya Line , New York's JFK AirTrain , and the Beijing Airport Express . These trains are run in four-car configurations on the Expo Line, and two-car configurations on the Millennium Line. Each pair of cars is semi-permanently joined together in a twin unit or "married pair", with a length of 33.4 metres (110 ft). Mark II trains have

1239-432: A Compass Card or a 90-minute paper Compass ticket to operate. This means that a bus rider paying cash is required to pay a second fare to transfer to SkyTrain or SeaBus. Those transit users paying cash but beginning their trips at a SkyTrain or SeaBus station are not subject to this second fare because they are issued Compass tickets which are accepted as valid transfers on TransLink buses. Construction of SkyTrain fare gates

1416-767: A Wednesday of the festival, elementary school students gather at Queen's Park Stadium to dance, and the May Queen is crowned. Douglas College , a major post-secondary institution in Greater Vancouver , has a campus in New Westminster. The college has an enrollment of 14,000 students and offers degrees, associate degrees, and two-year career and University Transfer programs to local, national and international students. The Justice Institute of British Columbia offers training to municipal police forces, fire departments, provincial corrections, court services, and paramedics with

1593-602: A bike lane and reverse angle parking. This was done to encourage more foot and bicycle traffic. Major high-rise or renovation projects are completed or nearing completion. By May 2012, these include the Plaza 88 development which includes three condominium towers, the complete renovation of the Columbia which is now a cabaret style theatre for concerts, weddings and fundraisers, and the home of Lafflines Comedy Club. The new $ 25 million Westminster Pier Park officially opened on June 16, 2012, and

1770-546: A cabaret style theatre, it is now called The Columbia, home of Lafflines Comedy Club. Douglas College also offers post-secondary training in theatre, stagecraft and music, as well as non-credit courses in music for all ages and ability levels, through the Douglas College Community Music School. Theatre productions and music concerts at Douglas College take place in the Laura C. Muir Performing Arts Theatre and

1947-706: A chunk of Columbia Street's historical character. One of the most well-known of these businesses was Copp's Shoes, which had not changed between its 1925 opening and its closure in early 2013. The westernmost neighbourhood in the city, Connaught Heights, began life as District Lot 172 after the Royal Engineers surveyed the land in the 1860s. In 1892, when the official civic boundaries for New Westminster were set, they only included its original city and suburban lots, thus leaving District Lot 172 disincorporated. The City of Burnaby also chose not to incorporate District Lot 172 when its official civic boundaries were set, resulting in

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2124-578: A different design from the Expo and Millennium Lines' Bombardier-built fleet. They use conventional electric motors rather than linear induction motor technology. Canada Line tracks do not interconnect with the rest of the SkyTrain network, and there is a separate fleet maintenance depot. SkyTrain provides high-frequency service, with trains arriving every 2 to 6 minutes at all stations during peak hours. Trains operate between 4:48 a.m. and approximately 1:30 a.m. on weekdays, with reduced hours on weekends on

2301-402: A dockside street and market, and also the location of the original Chinatown, Front Street was converted into a truck-route bypass and elevated parkade during the 1960s in an effort to provide increased parking for adjacent Columbia Street. In recent decades it has been the focus of the city's thriving antiques and second-hand trade, which is also concentrated on 12 Street. It has also been used as

2478-502: A lack of standardized parts, and the wish to introduce automated computer technology to drive the trains. Following the demonstration project, construction of the first phase of the Expo Line between Vancouver and New Westminster got under way in mid-1983, with guideway construction nearing completion by late 1984, and station construction beginning in early 1985. On December 11, 1985, SkyTrain began providing free weekend service, with full revenue service opening on January 3, 1986. Phase I

2655-683: A location in feature films such as Rumble in the Bronx (substituting for the Bronx), I, Robot (as a futuristic Chicago), Shooter (doubling for Philadelphia, with the Fraser River being the Delaware River), and New Moon . In early 2016, a partial demolition of the parkade commenced as part of the City's continued efforts to revitalize and improve their waterfront area. The original colonial Government House

2832-567: A new civic centre and office tower named The Anvil Centre on Columbia Street at Begbie Street completed Sept. 2014. The Salient Group built a tower on top of the Trapp + Holbrook buildings (while restoring the facade) and another condominium called Northbank was built at the east entrance of Columbia Street. Close to the Trapp building, a major fire razed the E.L. Lewis Building and the Hamley Block on October 13, 2013, displacing 30 businesses and destroying

3009-538: A population density of 5,052.2/km (13,085.2/sq mi) in 2021. A legacy of early 20th century settlement, the Queensborough neighbourhood has a large South Asian population, primarily of Punjabi Sikh descent. The 2016 census found that English was spoken as mother tongue by 50.47% of the population. The next most common mother tongue language was Tagalog , spoken by 4.5% of the population, followed by Mandarin at 4.4%, and Punjabi at 3.5%. According to

3186-556: A rapid transit line as early as 1979 but such a project was not funded until the early 2000s with the approval of the Canada Line. The line opened on August 17, 2009, 15 weeks ahead of schedule and on budget. Ridership rose three years ahead of forecasts, hitting 100,000 passengers per weekday in May 2010 and 136,000 passengers per weekday in June 2011. The Canada Line is operationally independent from

3363-573: A recess to settle the resulting uproar and allow the member from Nanaimo a chance to sort out his speaking notes and his spectacles, the Speaker John Sebastian Helmcken (from Victoria) refused to allow Franklyn a "second" chance to speak. The subsequent vote was 13 to 8 against New Westminster. With the entry of British Columbia into the Dominion of Canada in 1871, as the sixth province, New Westminster's economic prospects improved, but

3540-570: A regional government transportation agency. The Canada Line is operated on the same principles by the private concessionaire ProTrans BC under contract to TransLink and is an integrated part of the regional transport system. SkyTrain uses a fare system shared with other local transit services and is policed by the Metro Vancouver Transit Police . SkyTrain attendants (STAs) provide first aid, emergency response, directions and customer service, inspect fares, monitor train faults, and operate

3717-510: A security hazard. On-board speaker phones provide two-way communication between passengers and control operators. In 2007, it was reported that the entire surveillance system was upgraded from analogue two-hour tape recording to digital technology, which was to allow police to retrieve previous footage for up to seven days. However, incidents since the upgrade have still limited police to a two-hour loop, resulting in loss of potential evidence. By November 2008, at least 54 deaths had occurred on

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3894-474: A shortage of trains, the Mark IIIs are being used on the Expo Line, while 2-car Innovia 200 (Mk2) serve the Millennium Line. On December 16, 2016, TransLink ordered 28 more Mark III cars, bringing the total of Mark III cars to 56 by the end of 2019. On February 22, 2018, TransLink announced a further order of 28 Mark III cars, which will bring the total number of Mark III cars to 84 once all trains are in service by

4071-729: A single-day record of 567,000 on February 20, 2010. At times, every available train was in service on all three lines. After the Olympics ended, overall transit usage remained 7.8 percent above the previous year. The cost of operating SkyTrain in 2008, with an estimated 73.5   million boardings, was $ 83   million. To cover this, TransLink draws mostly from transit fares, advertising ($ 360   million in 2008) and tax ($ 262   million from fuel taxes and $ 298   million from property taxes in 2008), funds which are also shared with bus services, roads and bridge maintenance, and other infrastructure and services. The capital costs of building

4248-401: A streamlined front and rear, an articulated joint allowing passengers to walk the length of a married pair, white/grey/blue interior, and six doors per car, three per side. TransLink also ordered 48 Mark II ART (2009/2010 model) in 2009 to further supplement supply and integrate new features like CCTV and visual maps with LED lights. The Bombardier ART model has undergone several redesigns from

4425-545: A third platform at the station was roughed-in in anticipation of the extension. Phase II was postponed following a change in provincial government and a shuffling of priorities that led to prioritizing building the Canada Line due to Vancouver's hosting of the 2010 Olympics. Preliminary construction of the Evergreen Extension began in July 2012 and major construction started in June 2013 with the construction of support columns for

4602-478: A total length of 562 m (1844 ft), with shorter 47-metre (154 ft) towers necessitated by its proximity to the Vancouver International Airport , and also has a pedestrian/bicycle deck connecting the bicycle networks of Vancouver and Richmond. The Middle Arm Bridge is a shorter box girder bridge . The signalling technology used on all three SkyTrain lines to run trains automatically

4779-450: A tunnel and then elevated until it terminates at Production Way–University in Burnaby. 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. What is now known as SkyTrain began as a demonstration project to showcase

4956-441: A valid Go-Card and the elderly. Children under 12 have been able to ride the system for free since September 2021. Until April 2016, SkyTrain's fare system was a proof-of-payment system; there were no turnstiles at the entrances to train platforms. Instead, fares were typically enforced by random ticket inspections – usually by police or transit security but occasionally by SkyTrain attendants – through trains and stations. This

5133-411: A whole, TransLink had $ 1.1   billion in long-term debt in 2006, of which $ 508   million was transferred from the province in 1999 when responsibility for SkyTrain was given to TransLink. The province retained ownership of the causeway, bridge, certain services, and a portion of SkyTrain's debt. Law enforcement services are provided by the Metro Vancouver Transit Police (MVTP). They replaced

5310-640: A yard next to Bridgeport station in Richmond. New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West ) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia , Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District . It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capital of the Colony of British Columbia in 1858 and continued in that role until

5487-632: Is 15.62 square kilometres (6.03 sq mi). New Westminster has changed markedly over time and by the results of its incorporation into the wider urbanization of the Lower Mainland. (See also: Architecture of Greater Vancouver. ) In 1878, the Government of Canada opened the British Columbia Penitentiary , the first federal penitentiary west of Manitoba. "BC Pen", or simply "the Pen", as it

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5664-427: Is a sister publication to The Georgia Straight : both are owned by Overstory Media Group. New Westminster also had a community humour magazine called Piffle. Piffle is the creation of Columbian Newspaper sports writer Ron Loftus. When Ron retired, he sold Piffle to another Columbian reporter Chris Sargent, who published the magazine for the last 14 years. The city has several live performance venues, ranging from

5841-404: Is a six-car configuration, totalling 76.2 metres (250 ft). The SkyTrain fleet includes 150 Mark I cars. These trains have a mix of forward-, reverse- and side-facing seats; red, white, and blue interiors; and four doors per car, two per side. When the Millennium Line was built, TransLink ordered new-generation Mark II ART trains from Bombardier Transportation , some of which were assembled in

6018-442: Is a two-storey asymmetrical red brick building with steeply pitched bellcast roofs. The building, which was built in 1899, is a classic example of CPR's signature Château -styled railway stations. In 1911, two wings were added to the station, and in 1973, the ageing train station was converted into a branch of The Keg restaurant chain. In 2013, however, the restaurant closed its doors to the public due to structural issues surrounding

6195-419: Is also added to trips initiated at Sea Island stations for travel east to Bridgeport station and beyond using Compass Card stored value or DayPasses. It is not applied to trips using monthly passes, nor to trips travelling to the airport using DayPasses or single-use Compass tickets which were purchased and activated off Sea Island. The YVR AddFare came into effect on January 18, 2010. The revenue collected from

6372-586: Is because area was then boggy ground of low value for the stone and brick buildings of the main part of downtown up Columbia Street to the northeast; and also close to the river and the railway. Chinatown was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1898 and only partly rebuilt afterwards, with a church and cultural and community events hall the first to be started. Until the 1964 completion of the Highway 1 freeway , which bypassed New Westminster to its north, Columbia Street,

6549-496: Is generated and the command is ignored. The VCC communicates with the train's vehicle on board computer (VOBC), whose data is transmitted through coax cables laid along the tracks. There are up to two VOBCs per married-pair trains, i.e. 4-car train would have two VOBCs. If the VCCs fail or communication between the VCC and the VOBC is lost, the train will "time-out" and emergency-brake (EB) through

6726-483: Is known as "degraded mode". The SkyTrain health monitoring unit (HMU) developed by Quester Tangent provides monitoring and diagnostic functionality for vehicle maintenance by connecting to CAN vehicle network and providing a maintenance display in the Hostler Panel. SkyTrain's signalling system later provided the basis of SelTrac , which is currently maintained and sold by Thales and has equipped many lines around

6903-741: Is named Another Beer Co and it is located in Sapperton, close to where the Labatts Brewery was in the Brewery District, since 2019. Also located in Sapperton are the Royal Columbian Hospital , Sapperton Station , Braid Station , and the TransLink (British Columbia) headquarters. Development of an uptown commercial area around 6th Street and 6th Avenue started in 1954, with the opening of Woodward's department store. Added momentum came with

7080-550: Is provided for deaf individuals through real-time English signage and displays at stations and on newer trains, although a reliance on verbal communication for service disruptions has been identified as a transportation barrier. The distinctive three-tone chime used in the SkyTrain system was recorded in 1984–85 at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver. The automated train announcements have been voiced by Laureen Regan since

7257-652: Is the Queens Park Arena, longtime home to the legendary New Westminster Salmonbellies professional lacrosse team, as well as an open-air stadium used for baseball and field sports. The Burr Theatre (originally the Columbia Theatre), named for New Westminster native Raymond Burr, was operated by the Raymond Burr Performing Arts Society who produced professional -quality mysteries and comedies between October 2000 and January 2005. February 2005 saw

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7434-427: Is three years ahead of ridership forecasts. SkyTrain's highest ridership came during the 2010 Winter Olympics when each event ticket included unlimited day-of transit usage. During the 17-day event, Canada Line ridership rose 110 per cent to an average of 228,000 per day, with a single-day record of 287,400 on February 19, 2010. Expo and Millennium Line ridership rose 64 per cent to an average of 394,000 per day, with

7611-501: The 2020 provincial election campaign, the BC NDP pledged to work with senior levels of government to obtain the $ 1.5   billion needed to complete the full extension to Langley. On July 9, 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the federal government would provide up to $ 1.3   billion to build the SkyTrain extension to Langley in a single phase. At that time, the cost of

7788-630: The 2021 census , religious groups in New Westminster included: The Columbian , originally the British Columbian , British Columbia's second newspaper, was founded in New Westminster by John Robson (later premier of British Columbia ). By the mid-20th century, it had long since been eclipsed by the Vancouver newspapers, and published its last issue on November 15, 1983, after a run of 123 years. CKNW , one of Canada's first private news radio, hot-line and talk stations, began broadcasting from studios in New Westminster on April 1, 1944, originally in

7965-477: The Metro Vancouver region in British Columbia, Canada. SkyTrain has 79.6 km (49.5 mi) of track and uses fully automated trains on grade-separated tracks running on underground and elevated guideways, allowing SkyTrain to hold consistently high on-time reliability. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 141,339,300, or about 455,700 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024. The name "SkyTrain"

8142-634: The Millennium Line opened and shared the same track alignment with the Expo Line from Waterfront station in Downtown Vancouver to Columbia station in New Westminster . At Columbia, the two lines diverged, with the Expo Line crossing the Fraser River towards Surrey City Centre and the Millennium Line entering a short tunnel towards northeastern New Westminster and North Burnaby. In late 2016,

8319-534: The Urban Transportation Development Corporation (now part of Bombardier ). Construction began on March 1, 1982, and was completed in early 1983. The demonstration project consisted of just one station and about one kilometre of guideway with no switches. This original station was not "named" during this time as it was the only station, but then in 1985 opened as Main Street station . As it

8496-680: The 80-metre (260 ft) length of the Mark V trainsets, but no service interruptions will be necessary. The Surrey Langley SkyTrain Project is a 16-kilometre (9.9 mi) elevated extension of the Expo Line from King George SkyTrain Station in Surrey to 203 Street in Langley City, routed mostly along Fraser Highway. Anticipated to open in late 2028, it will be built in one phase (a change from earlier plans) and include

8673-505: The AddFare goes back to TransLink. Passengers on SkyTrain made an average of 526,400 trips on weekdays by the end of September 2019 . Overall in 2017, the network carried a total of 151   million passengers. This compares to 117.4   million passengers in 2010: 38,447,725 on the Canada Line and 78,965,214 on the interlined Expo and Millennium Lines. The Canada Line carried an average of 110,000 passengers per weekday in early 2011, and

8850-541: The BC broadcasting industry where many notable reporters and broadcasters had their start. New Westminster is served by two publications: New Westminster Record , part of the Glacier Media chain, which publishes online. In May 2022, New West Anchor , a biweekly newsletter delivering news and event listings via email, was launched by former CKNW and CityNews Vancouver journalist Ria Renouf. Colloquially known as The Anchor , it

9027-668: The British Columbia Ambulance Service. The Institute operates a Centre for Conflict Resolution , a Centre for Leadership and Community Learning, Executive Programs , a Public Safety Seminar Series, and the Aboriginal Leadership Diploma Program. Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine (BINM), the only Naturopathic medical school in western Canada, offering the N.D. degree in Naturopathic Medicine in both 4-year and 6-year programs

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9204-533: The Canada Line splits into two branches, one heading west to the YVR–Airport station at Vancouver International Airport and the other continuing south to the Richmond–Brighouse station in Richmond's city centre. Opened on August 17, 2009, the Canada Line added 15 stations and 19.2 km (11.9 mi) to the SkyTrain network. Waterfront station is the only station where the Canada Line directly connects with

9381-523: The Columbia Detachment of Royal Engineers ("Sappers"), whose camp was on the hill now occupied by the Fraserview neighbourhood. It is the location of the historic Fraser Cemetery, which rivals Victoria's Ross Bay Cemetery for the number of historically significant graves and monuments. Sapperton is the home of the first commercial brewery to operate in British Columbia known as the "City Brewery". Over

9558-690: The Evergreen Line during construction, is the second phase of the Millennium Line, extending from Lougheed Mall in Burnaby to the Douglas College campus in Coquitlam. Originally referred to as the Port Moody-Coquitlam (PMC) Line, it provides a "one-seat ride" from Coquitlam to Vancouver. Switches to the PMC Line were installed to the east of Lougheed Town Centre station during its initial construction and

9735-401: The Expo Line from Waterfront station to Columbia station in New Westminster, then continued along its own elevated route through North Burnaby and East Vancouver , ending at VCC–Clark station , near Vancouver Community College 's Broadway campus. It was built on a $ 1.2-billion budget and the final extension from Commercial Drive station (now Commercial–Broadway station ) to VCC–Clark station

9912-477: The Expo Line. The Canada Line travels southward from Waterfront station in Downtown Vancouver to Richmond , where the track splits at Bridgeport station ; trains alternate between a southern branch ending at Richmond–Brighouse station and a western branch ending at Vancouver International Airport . Although most of the system is elevated, SkyTrain runs at or below grade through Downtown Vancouver, for

10089-448: The Expo Line. The $ 1.65   billion in funding that was earmarked for the light rail project was intended to be used to construct part of this extension to Langley but was insufficient to fund the entire extension, with $ 1.9   billion more needed to complete the project. The existing funding would extend the line 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) to Fleetwood in Surrey and add 4 new stations, terminating at 166th Street. On July 25, 2019,

10266-514: The Expo Line; however, Vancouver City Centre station is within a three-minute walk from Granville station via the Pacific Centre mall, making an unofficial transfer to the Expo Line. The Canada Line cost $ 1.9   billion, financed by the Governments of Canada and British Columbia, TransLink, and InTransitBC. The Canada Line's trains, built by Hyundai Rotem , are fully automated, but are of

10443-603: The Expo and Millennium lines. SkyTrain has longer hours of service during special events, such as New Year's Eve, the Vancouver 2010 Olympics , and marathons. TransLink's SkyTrain service area is divided into three zones, with fares varying depending on how many zone boundaries are crossed during one trip (two- and three-zone passengers are charged the one zone rate after 6:30 pm rush hour, and on weekends and statutory holidays). Customers may purchase fares using cash, debit cards, or credit cards from self-serve ticket vending machines at

10620-460: The Hyack Festival, is distinguished by the Ancient and Honourable Hyack Anvil Battery Salute , a tradition created by The New Westminster Fire Department during colonial times as a surrogate for a 21-gun salute . With no cannons available in the early colony, the Fire Department—known as the Hyacks, from the Chinook Jargon for "fast" or "quick", here derived from its use as a command for "hurry up!"— improvised by placing gunpowder between two anvils,

10797-460: The Mainland and Island colonies were merged in 1866 . It was the British Columbia Mainland's largest city from that year until it was passed in population by Vancouver during the first decade of the 20th century. It is located on the banks of the Fraser River as it turns southwest towards its estuary, on the southwest side of the Burrard Peninsula and roughly at the centre of the Greater Vancouver region. The area now known as New Westminster

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10974-438: The Massey Theatre adjacent to New Westminster High School, to the Burr Theatre, a converted cinema on Columbia Street, and two theatrical venues in Queens Park (One being the Bernie Legge Theatre, home of the Vagabond Players, which were formed in 1937.) The Royal City Musical Theatre, a long-established New Westminster tradition, uses the Massey, while comedy and mystery theatricals use the stages in Queens Park. Also in Queens Park

11151-469: The Massey Theatre. The main feature of the New Westminster Museum and Archives (NWMA) is the 1865 Irving House , which is said to be the oldest intact house in the BC Lower Mainland. In the museum are treasures such as the 1876 coach used by Lord Dufferin , then Governor General of Canada , to tour the new province of British Columbia including Barkerville via the Cariboo Road . The city's archives hold corporate and personal treasures such as 1859 maps of

11328-463: The Mayors' Council voted to extend the Expo Line to Fleetwood using the existing funds. The council also voted to proceed with preparing a detailed business case for the full Surrey–Langley SkyTrain extension, which was expected to be completed by early 2020. If approved by the end of the third quarter of 2020, construction would have started in early 2022, with revenue service to Fleetwood projected to have started in late 2025. On October 8, 2020, during

11505-443: The Millennium Line opened in 2002, with Braid and Sapperton stations. Most of the remaining portion began operating later that year, serving North Burnaby and East Vancouver . Phase I of the Millennium Line was completed $ 50   million under budget. Critics of the project dubbed it the "SkyTrain to Nowhere", claiming that the route of the new line was based on political concerns, not the needs of commuters. One illustration of

11682-407: The Millennium Line shortly after it was completed. The new, wider edges are brighter and are tiled to provide a safer environment for the visually impaired. The Canada Line also uses this safety feature in its stations. Since the opening of the Millennium Line, aside from platform tile upgrading, many Expo line stations have also been refitted with new signage and ticket vending machines. Accessibility

11859-454: The Millennium Line's Evergreen Extension , from Lougheed Town Centre in Burnaby to Lafarge Lake–Douglas in Coquitlam, was completed in 2016 and it was opened for revenue service on December 2, 2016. This extension adds 11 km (6.8 mi) and 6 new stations to the Millennium Line. The Canada Line begins at the Waterfront station hub, then continues south through Vancouver into the City of Richmond and Sea Island. From Bridgeport station ,

12036-415: The Pen's grounds have been filled with newly built townhouses and condominiums and parkland. Below the main complex on the waterfront the prison's old armoury still stands as part of a new waterfront park; this was also the location of the prison's wharf which was much-used when steamboat was the main means of transportation within the Lower Mainland and for some years after. The mental hospital for children,

12213-413: The Quay's commercial component had noticeably decreased, with many vacancies, compared to the much more active Lonsdale Quay Market in North Vancouver . Responding to the decrease of business, the ownership group closed the Westminster Quay Market for renovations. The market re-opened as The River Market in September 2010 with Donald's Market as the main anchor. The Westminster Quay is also known to house

12390-469: The Queen, the City gained its official nickname, "the Royal City". A year later New Westminster became the first City in British Columbia to be incorporated and have an elected municipal government. It became a major outfitting point for prospectors coming to the Fraser Gold Rush , as all travel to the goldfield ports of Yale and Port Douglas was by steamboat or canoe up the Fraser River . However, Colonial Office secretary Edward Bulwer-Lytton "forgot

12567-405: The Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings. Along with the rest of the Greater Vancouver region, in 2020 New Westminster experienced the worst air quality in the world due to the combined effects of the 2020 Western American wildfires and a fire at the old Pier at the quay. In 2022, efforts were made within the city to phase-out the "Royal City" moniker and undergo a rebrand of

12744-567: The Royal City would lose out again, this time to the new railway terminus town of Vancouver , when the Canadian Pacific Railway was extended to the shores of Burrard Inlet , even though a spur of the railway did reach New Westminster in 1886. In 1898, a fire destroyed downtown New Westminster, and in 1916 the federal government shut down the "common" reserves set aside for Coastal First Nations people who visited New Westminster during

12921-452: The Royal Engineers were trained in settlement and selected the site because of its defensibility: it was farther from the American border than the site of the colony's proclamation, Fort Langley , possessed "great facilities for communication by water, as well as by future great trunk railways into the interior", and possessed an excellent port. Moody was also struck by the majestic beauty of

13098-473: The Royal Windsor Hotel, then at a few other locations in the city, before moving to downtown Vancouver from its final New Westminster location at 8th and McBride, which it occupied from 1967 onwards. Although it has broadcast from Vancouver for the better part of half a century, it is still licensed to New Westminster and its callsign still includes the letters "NW" for New Westminster. It is a mainstay of

13275-561: The SkyTrain network. The 2023 fleet consists of six-car Mark I trains using the Innovia ART 100, two- and four-car Mark II trains (operating in coupled pairs of two cars) using the Innovia ART 200, and four-car Mark III trains using the Innovia Metro 300. Before the purchase of some Mark II vehicles in 2009, the Expo line was operating at capacity while carrying 12,000 passengers per hour per direction (pphpd). Its ultimate design capacity

13452-763: The SkyTrain system underwent a service change in preparation for the opening of the Evergreen Extension , resulting in a new branch of the Expo Line serving four stations that were originally built for the Millennium Line. On October 22, 2016, this branch began service from Columbia to Sapperton , Braid , Lougheed Town Centre , and Production Way–University stations, while the Millennium Line began running between VCC–Clark and Lougheed Town Centre (and later, Lafarge Lake–Douglas ) stations, effectively ending nearly 15 years of Millennium Line service between Waterfront and Braid. The main Expo Line service between Waterfront and King George stations remained in place, operating at

13629-540: The SkyTrain yards at Edmonds station in Burnaby . The line travels underground for a short stretch between New Westminster and Columbia stations. Just east of Columbia is a junction where the line splits. One branch crosses the Fraser River , via the SkyBridge , and is elevated for the rest of its run through Surrey , with King George as its terminus station. The other branch continues through New Westminster, first through

13806-648: The South of Fraser region. In addition to SkyTrain, light rail and bus rapid transit were also in consideration. In 2016, TransLink was building dual business cases for LRT and SkyTrain technologies. In November 2018, following a change of government in Surrey, the Metro Vancouver Mayors' Council voted to indefinitely suspend the at-grade Surrey light rail project in favour of extending the Expo Line from King George station to Langley City . This extension would be 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) long and add eight stations to

13983-403: The Vancouver portion of the Canada Line until just before it reaches Richmond at Marine Drive station, through the 2.1-kilometre (1.3 mi) tunnel used by the Millennium Line between Coquitlam and Port Moody, through the 0.6-kilometre (0.4 mi) tunnel between Columbia and Sapperton stations in New Westminster, and for short stretches in Burnaby and New Westminster. SkyTrain's Expo Line uses

14160-606: The West Coast Express commuter train ( Moody Centre and Coquitlam Central ). The original Millennium Line's stations were designed by British Columbia's top architects and are very different from those on the Expo Line. In 2004, Busby and Associates Architects, designers of the Brentwood Town Centre station in Burnaby , were honoured for their work with a Governor General's Medal in Architecture . Construction on

14337-535: The area being outside any municipal jurisdiction. In 1911, the original landowner subdivided the land into residential lots that followed the grid established by neighbouring New Westminster; the first residential home had only been built a year prior. In 1912, the BC Electric Railway took advantage of this by building the "Connaught Hill" station at Tenth Avenue for the new interurban electric tramway, which connected New Westminster with Vancouver. The station

14514-486: The assembly, William Cox (one of the colony's Gold Commissioners and a Victoria supporter), shuffled the pages of the speech that William Franklyn from Nanaimo (a New Westminster supporter) intended to give, so that Franklyn lost his place and read the first paragraph three times. Cox then popped the lenses of Franklyn's glasses from their frames so that the Nanaimo representative could see nothing at all of his speech. After

14691-579: The building of suburban malls with free parking is generally conceded to have "killed" Columbia Street, which fell into a slump despite the building of a large parkade above nearby Front Street in the 50s and 60s. Department stores (other than the Army and Navy) left downtown as the Uptown area continued to develop to become New Westminster's main retail and services centre. In October 2006, Columbia Street underwent reconstruction to change to one lane in both directions, with

14868-404: The bus system, bus loops, and SeaBus. SkyTrain attendants provide customer service and first aid, troubleshoot train and station operations, and perform fare checks alongside the transit police force. SkyTrain attendants can be identified by their uniforms which say "SkyTrain" on them. Over the years, violence and other criminal activities have been concerns at time, but TransLink maintains that

15045-421: The carpeting, wax floors of the same colour were installed between 1992 and 1993. In the planning of the original line, a proposed future station at Boundary Road and Kingsway, or "Boundary station" was to be included to serve employees of BCTel. However, the proposal was scrapped largely due to a fear of the station attracting crime to the neighbourhood and noise-level concerns. The first extension, or Phase II,

15222-436: The citizens of New Westminster, who avidly supported Colonel Moody's city-building efforts and castigated the governor, who preferred to remain for the most part isolated in distant Victoria . In contrast to Victoria, where settlers from England had established a strong British presence, New Westminster's early citizens were largely Canadians and Maritimers, who brought a more business-oriented approach to commerce and dismissed

15399-647: The city drawn by the Royal Engineers and official city records. Other heritage artifacts in the city include the 1937 Samson V paddlewheeler, the 1890s armouries, 1850s historic cannons, two of the old BC Pen buildings, numerous cemeteries, and dozens of heritage homes, many of which are from the 19th century. The Museum is affiliated with Canadian Museums Association , the Canadian Heritage Information Network , and Virtual Museum of Canada . New Westminster's May Day celebration began in 1870 and continues today as an important civic tradition, lending

15576-624: The city the distinction of having the longest-running May Day celebration of its type in the British Commonwealth . Within BC, at least four other communities still celebrate May Day: Port Coquitlam, Ladner in Delta (whose May Day Festival began in 1896), Bradner in Abbotsford, and The Sunshine Coast's Pender Harbour. The May Day festival, held on the Victoria Day weekend and more formally known as

15753-503: The city's logo and mottos. New Westminster is located on the Burrard Peninsula , mainly on the north bank of the Fraser River . It is 19 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of the City of Vancouver proper, adjacent to Burnaby and Coquitlam and across the Fraser River from Surrey and Delta. A portion of New Westminster called Queensborough is located on the eastern tip of Lulu Island , adjacent to Richmond . The total land area

15930-504: The colony, Douglas imposed duties on imports into New Westminster. In 1866, the Colony of British Columbia and the Colony of Vancouver Island were united as "British Columbia". However, the capital of the Colony of Vancouver Island, Victoria , was made the capital of the newly amalgamated Colony of British Columbia following a vote in the House of Assembly. On the day of the vote, one member of

16107-469: The construction of such a system. During the same period, Urban Transportation Development Corporation , then an Ontario crown corporation, was developing a new rapid transit technology known as an "Intermediate Capacity Transit System". In 1980, the "Advanced Light Rapid Transit" system was selected by the British Columbia provincial government for use on one of two planned corridors, connecting Vancouver to New Westminster in time for Expo 86 . SkyTrain

16284-600: The construction of the Queensborough Bridge resulted in the demolition of property in Connaught Heights Waterworks District, showing further interaction between the city and district. The first of two referendums to vote on incorporating Connaught Heights Waterworks District into the City of New Westminster was held in 1961, which failed to achieve enough positive votes to proceed with incorporation. Construction of Connaught Heights Elementary School

16461-542: The downtown core of New Westminster close to the city's waterfront, was the main commercial retail and service centre for the Fraser Valley and nearby areas of Burnaby and Coquitlam. Known as "the golden mile", it hosted major department stores such as Eaton's, Kresge's and Woolworths as well as long-established New Westminster retailers. This was a time when road travel to Vancouver remained distant for Valley communities, and daily interurban rail service to and from Chilliwack

16638-482: The driving force of the investment, though it did not disaggregate the general growth in that area. There are three main routes: the Expo Line, Millennium Line and Canada Line. The Expo Line travels between Waterfront station in Downtown Vancouver and Columbia station in New Westminster , serving the cities of Vancouver, Burnaby , and New Westminster. From Columbia, the Expo Line splits into two branches. One branch travels through Surrey to King George station , while

16815-457: The end of 2020. The Canada Line uses Hyundai Rotem EMU vehicles, with cars powered by conventional electric motors instead of the linear induction motor (LIM) technology used by the Expo and Millennium Line vehicles; as a result, the Canada Line vehicles cannot be used on the Expo and Millennium Lines. There are 20 trains, which operate as two-carriage articulated units and can reach a speed of 80 km/h (49.7 mph). They are maintained at

16992-424: The end-to-end average speed is 45 km/h (28.0 mph), three times faster than a bus and almost twice as fast as a B-Line express bus. During cold weather, TransLink crews use hockey sticks to clear snow and ice from train doors, which would otherwise prevent some doors from being able to open. The trains are also slowed and staffed by TransLink attendants, who can manually override the automatic controls in

17169-500: The entrance to the Queen of England's dominions on the Pacific mainland. [...] My imagination converted the silent marshes into Cuyp -like pictures of horses and cattle lazily fattening in rich meadows in a glowing sunset. [...] The water of the deep clear Frazer was of a glassy stillness, not a ripple before us, except when a fish rose to the surface or broods of wild ducks fluttered away. It

17346-569: The event of an obstruction caused by snow or ice. The initial fleet consisted of 12.7 m (41 ft 8 in) lightweight Mark I ICTS cars from Urban Transportation Development Corporation , similar to those used by Toronto's Line 3 Scarborough and the Detroit People Mover . Mark I vehicles are composed of mated pairs and normally run as six-car trains and only on the Expo Line, but can be run in two-, four-, or six-car configurations. The maximum based on current station platform lengths

17523-524: The exception of the original ICTS guideway, no other part of the Expo Line required retrofitting for strength in order to accommodate the Mark II cars. After the 1983 preview closed, the single pair of demonstration cars were sent back to Ontario, which have since served as test trains for the UTDC. The subsequent trains ordered for Expo were designed slightly differently from the demo train set because of issues such as

17700-527: The expense of implementing, maintaining, and enforcing them would exceed the losses prevented. In 2005, TransLink estimated it was losing $ 4   million (5 percent of revenue attributed to SkyTrain) annually to fare evasion on SkyTrain. While the Canada Line stations, along with those on the Millennium Line, were designed to allow for future fare gates, the Canada Line opened in 2009 without them, despite stated intentions to include them. Expo Line stations have since been redesigned and retrofitted to accommodate

17877-482: The fare-paid zone. Starting in April 2016, they were initially fully closed only during peak hours, with one gate remaining open during off-peak times for people with accessibility issues who could not reach their Compass Cards to the fare gates to tap in or out. Full implementation of the fare gates was also delayed by problems with Compass Cards when riders were tapping out as they exited buses. The tapping-out process on buses

18054-411: The first few years of revenue service until the early 1990s, all trains were lined with carpeting, and train doors did not open automatically but rather at the push of buttons on the interior and exterior of the trains when docked in stations. This on-demand system reflected the small-scale ridership SkyTrain had before Vancouver experienced a major population boost. Due to an inability to steadily maintain

18231-627: The fishing season. In 1916 the remaining land on Poplar Island was turned over to the BC government. From 1927 to 1969, the British Columbia Shore Station Oceanographic Program was collecting coastal water temperature and salinity measurements from New Westminster every day for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans . In 1991, the New Westminster Armoury was recognized as a Federal Heritage building on

18408-630: The following eight stations: The 2008 Provincial Transit Plan included a 6-kilometre (3.7 mi) extension from King George station in Surrey east to Guildford , then along 152 Street to Fraser Highway and southeast to 168 Street; a further extension to Willowbrook Shopping Centre in Langley Township was also included in the plan. In 2011, as part of phase 2 of the Surrey Rapid Transit Study, different possibilities were examined for expanding rapid transit along multiple corridors in

18585-502: The gates in place by the end of 2010. However, in August 2009, a TransLink spokesman said the gates would not be installed before 2012, and that a smart card system would be implemented at the same time. It was announced on August 14, 2013, that bus-issued transfers (magnetic strip paper cards) would continue to be issued for cash fares paid on buses, but that these transfers would not work at SkyTrain or SeaBus station fare gates, which require

18762-406: The legitimacy of this complaint is that the end of the Millennium Line is located in a vacant field, chosen because it was supposed to be the location for a new high-tech development and is close to the head office of QLT Inc., but additional development was slow to get off the ground. That station, VCC–Clark near Clark Drive and Broadway, did not open until 2006 due to the struggles of negotiating

18939-399: The line. The extension began revenue service on December 2, 2016. The Canada Line was built as a public–private partnership, with the winning consortium (now known as ProTransBC), led by SNC-Lavalin , contributing funds toward its construction and operating it for 35 years. A minimum ridership was guaranteed to ProTransBC by TransLink. The Richmond–Vancouver corridor had been considered for

19116-744: The longest rapid transit system in Canada and the longest fully automated driverless system in the world. The total lengths of the automated lines of the Shanghai Metro , Singapore MRT , Kuala Lumpur Rapid KL and Dubai Metro have since surpassed those of SkyTrain. SkyTrain has 53 stations served by three lines: the Expo Line , the Millennium Line , and the Canada Line . The Expo and Millennium Lines are operated by British Columbia Rapid Transit Company under contract from TransLink (originally BC Transit),

19293-515: 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. For

19470-630: The mezzanine level of each station. A variety of transit passes are available, such as the pre-paid FareSaver ticket, daily DayPass, monthly FareCard, annual EmployerPass, post-secondary student U-Pass , and other specialized passes. Canadian National Institute for the Blind identification cards are accepted without the need to be read by the fare box. One-time fares are valid for 90 minutes on any mode of transportation with any number of transfers, including all SkyTrain lines and bus and SeaBus routes. Concession fares are available for secondary school students with

19647-483: The new fare gate system. The 2008 Provincial Transit Plan outlined several SkyTrain system upgrades, including replacement of the proof-of-payment system with a gated-ticket system. According to Minister of Transportation Kevin Falcon , the gated-ticket system was to be implemented by a private company by 2010. In April 2009, it was announced that the provincial and federal governments would spend $ 100   million to put

19824-524: The newly developed linear induction propulsion technology to Vancouver and other prospective cities throughout the world. Although Toronto's 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 developed by

20001-591: The north arm of the Fraser from the southern end of the city. Queensborough is today a growing housing area with its own distinct identity. Some new condominium complexes have been built adjacent to the Westminster Quay development. In the Chinook Jargon, "Koonspa", an adaptation of the name Queensborough, is the usual name for New Westminster as a whole. Sapperton was originally a "suburb" of New Westminster, named for

20178-466: The old TransLink Special Provincial Constables , who had limited authority. On December 4, 2005, MVTP officers became the first and only transit police force in Canada to have full police powers and carry firearms. There was public concern in March 2005 when it was announced that transit police would carry firearms. Solicitor General of British Columbia John Les defended the move at the time, saying that it

20355-399: The opening of the Millennium Line in 2002, and by Karen Kelm between 1985 and 2001. The Expo Line and Millennium Line use Bombardier 's Advanced Rapid Transit (ART) system, a system of automated trains driven by linear induction motors , formerly known as Intermediate Capacity Transit System (ICTS). These trains reach speeds of 90 km/h (55.9 mph); including wait times at stops,

20532-493: The original UTDC ICTS model, and the Mark II design has been updated by Bombardier, with this newest offering being the Innovia Metro 300 . Dimensions are similar to the Mark II, with capacity improvements offered over the outgoing model through redesigned car layout. TransLink ordered 28 Mark III cars, which began delivery in 2015, and went into service beginning in August 2016. The vehicles appear sleeker, with larger windows on

20709-502: The other SkyTrain lines, using different rolling stock (shorter overall train and station length, but wider cars) that is incompatible with the Expo and Millennium Lines. SkyTrain has had a significant impact on the development of areas near stations, and has helped to shape urban density in Metro Vancouver. Between 1991 and 2001, the population living within 500 m (1,640 ft) of SkyTrain increased by 37 percent, compared to

20886-463: The other travels through New Westminster and Burnaby, terminating at Production Way–University station . Millennium Line trains travel between VCC–Clark station and Lafarge Lake–Douglas station in the city of Coquitlam . Near the western end of the line is a major transfer point with the Expo Line at Commercial–Broadway station. Further east, Lougheed Town Centre station and Production Way–University station serve as two more transfer points with

21063-429: The platforms and tracks of the Expo and Millennium Lines. 44 of those deaths were suicides, while the remaining ten were accidental. Vancouver had plans as early as the 1950s to build a monorail system, with modernist architect Wells Coates to design it; that project was abandoned. The lack of a rapid transit system was said to be the cause of traffic problems in the 1970s, and the municipal government could not fund

21240-421: The practicalities of paying for clearing and developing the site and the town" and the efforts of Moody's engineers were continuously hampered by insufficient funds, which, together with the continuous opposition of Douglas, "made it impossible for [Moody's] design to be fulfilled". Governor Douglas spent little time in New Westminster and had little affection for the city; and the feelings were amply repaid by

21417-460: The pretensions of the older community. Despite being granted a municipal council, the mainlanders in New Westminster also pressed for a legislative assembly to be created for British Columbia, and were infuriated when Governor Douglas granted free port status to Victoria, which stifled the economic growth of the Fraser River city. Moreover, to pay for the expense of building roads into the Interior of

21594-421: The previous Millennium Line service between Waterfront and that station. During peak periods, trains between Waterfront and Columbia arrive every 2 to 3 minutes. Between Waterfront and King George, trains arrive every 2 to 5 minutes during peak hours, while trains between Waterfront and Production Way arrive every 6 to 7 minutes in the peak hours. Prior to October 22, 2016, the Millennium Line shared tracks with

21771-498: The previous Mark III trains; however, each train will have an additional carriage and will have more internal space. Each five-car Mark V train will be able to hold 672 passengers regularly, both seated and standing, with a potential crush capacity of up to 1,207 passengers. The order will provide for both an increase in the number of trainsets and ultimately a total replacement of the mid-1980s to early 1990s Mark I rolling stock. Construction will be required at some stations to accommodate

21948-406: The production trains. The whereabouts of these trains is unknown. The ICTS guideway was retrofitted during the construction of the Millennium Line to accommodate the heavier weight Mark 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

22125-418: The project was estimated between $ 3.8 and $ 3.95   billion in total, more than $ 650   million in excess of the earlier $ 3.13   billion estimate from TransLink, with the rest of the funding being split between TransLink and the provincial government. The full extension to Langley was planned to be constructed as a single project rather than in two phases and is scheduled to open in 2028. In July 2022,

22302-447: The provincial government officially approved this one-phase plan. Procurement for contractors was slated to start later in 2022, with major construction expected to begin in 2024. On March 7, 2024, the provincial Ministry of Transportation announced that SkyLink Guideway Partners had been selected to build the elevated guideway for the extension. SkyTrain (Vancouver) SkyTrain is the medium-capacity rapid transit system serving

22479-417: The regional average of 24 percent. Since SkyTrain opened, the total population of the service area rose from 400,000 to 1.3   million people. According to BC Transit's document SkyTrain: A catalyst for development , more than $ 5   billion of private money had been invested within a 10–15 minute walking distance of the SkyTrain and SeaBus . The report claimed that the two modes of transportation were

22656-405: The relocation of the public library from downtown to uptown in 1958. In 1992 Woodward's was expanded and modernized into a shopping centre and took the name Woodwards Place. With the bankruptcy of Woodward's in 1993, the name of the centre was changed to Royal City Centre Mall. Moody Park is an important recreational area in the uptown area. Opposite Sapperton's north end, New Westminster's West End

22833-403: The right-of-way with BNSF, the owner of the freight tracks beside the station, but it is still five kilometres short of the original proposed Phase II terminus at Granville Street and 10th Avenue. At the time VCC–Clark station opened, it was revealed that the additional westward extension and its three stations was out of favour and "not a high priority anymore". The Evergreen Extension, known as

23010-410: The same frequency levels. The Expo Line uses a fleet of Innovia ART and Innovia Metro trains built by Bombardier Transportation (now Alstom ). Like the Millennium Line, the trains are powered by linear induction motors rather than the conventional electric (rotary) motors used on the Canada Line. Expo Line trains are operated by the same SelTrac automated train control system used in the rest of

23187-541: The shores of the Pacific". Moody "wanted to build a city of beauty in the wilderness" and planned his city as an iconic visual metaphor for British dominance, "styled and located with the objective of reinforcing the authority of the Crown and of the robe". Subsequent to the enactment of the Pre-emption Act of 1860, Moody settled the Lower Mainland and selected the site and founded the new capital, New Westminster. Moody and

23364-568: The sides of the train, and redesigned windows and headlights on the ends of the cars. The interior is largely similar to the second generation of Mark II cars, with the some seats removed to better accommodate bicycles and strollers. TransLink has claimed that the interior of the Mark III offers better sound and heat insulation. TransLink ordered the cars for the Evergreen Extension in a 4-car articulated configuration, with two centre cars, to allow full-length train movements by passengers. However, due to

23541-471: The site, writing in his letter to Blackwood: The entrance to the Fraser is very striking—Extending miles to the right & left are low marsh lands (apparently of very rich qualities) & yet fr [ sic ] the Background of Superb Mountains—Swiss in outline, dark in woods, grandly towering into the clouds there is a sublimity that deeply impresses you. Everything is large and magnificent, worthy of

23718-474: The smaller, more intimate Studio Theatre from September to April. Every year, New Westminster hosts the New West Cultural Crawl to showcase the city's unique and talented artists. The unique Mushtari Begum Festival of Indian Classical Music and Dance, debuted in 2012, is produced by internationally acclaimed artists Cassius Khan and Amika Kushwaha to preserve the rare Indian arts, and is partnered with

23895-430: 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

24072-490: The system are shared with other government agencies. Capital expenses were $ 216   million in 2008. For example, the cost of building the Canada Line was shared between TransLink ($ 335   million or 22 percent), the federal government (29 percent), the provincial government (28 percent), the airport authority (19 percent), and the City of Vancouver (2 percent). While TransLink has run surpluses for operating costs since 2001, it incurs debt to cover these capital costs. As

24249-490: The system has been in full operation since. Travel on the Canada Line is free between the three Sea Island stations near the Vancouver International Airport: Templeton , Sea Island Centre , and YVR–Airport. Single-use Compass tickets purchased with cash at Compass vending machines in stations on Sea Island include a surcharge, the "YVR AddFare", of $ 5.00 on top of the normal fare. This charge

24426-656: The system is safe. In 2009, Inspector Kash Heed of the Vancouver Police Department said that little crime takes place in the stations themselves; however, criminal activity becomes more visible 400–700 metres (1,000–2,000 ft) outside them. Each station is monitored with an average of 23 closed-circuit television cameras, allowing SkyTrain operators to monitor passenger and station activity. Designated waiting areas have enhanced lighting, benches, and emergency telephones. Trains have yellow strips above each window which, when pressed, silently alert operators of

24603-552: The system, from Waterfront to New Westminster station , opened for limited and fare-free service on December 11, 1985. Revenue service began on January 3, 1986, and within its first year the line had carried over 30 million passengers—including visitors to Expo 86. The following year, construction began on an extension including the SkyBridge, Columbia station, and Scott Road station , extending service by 3.1 kilometres (1.9 mi) to Surrey; it opened on March 16, 1990. The line

24780-487: The theatre reopen as a vaudeville theatre with three major productions by The Heartaches Razz Band and in February 2006 collaboration with The Screaming Chicken Theatrical Society produced the first Annual Vancouver International Burlesque Festival . The theatre was sold by the City of New Westminster through a public request for proposal process to the owner of Lafflines Comedy Club. After extensive renovations to convert it into

24957-442: The then-114-year-old structure. As of 2023, the train station is occupied by Kelly O'Bryan's, a BC Irish restaurant and pub chain. Queensborough was the name originally chosen for the colonial capital by Royal Engineer commander Colonel Richard Clement Moody . When Queen Victoria designated New Westminster instead as her new capital's name, the name Queensborough became applied to New Westminster's portion of Lulu Island , across

25134-457: The top one upturned, and igniting the charge from a safe distance, hurling the upper anvil into the air. Each year, in preparation for May Day, local schoolchildren are taught to dance around a maypole with colourful ribbons. Elections are held at elementary schools in the city, and, from them one girl is selected to become the year's May Queen , and two students from each school to become members of her "May Queen Suite" and "Royal Knights." On

25311-609: The trains manually if necessary. The Expo Line connects Waterfront station in Vancouver to King George station in Surrey , principally along a route established by the Westminster and Vancouver Tramway Company as an interurban line in 1890. The Expo Line (originally referred to as simply "SkyTrain" until the opening of the Millennium Line) was built in 1985 in time for Expo 86 . It now has 24 stations. The Expo Line ran only as far as New Westminster station initially. In 1989, it

25488-461: 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

25665-544: The world's second longest bridge dedicated to transit services, the SkyBridge, which crosses the Fraser River between New Westminster and Surrey. It is a 616-metre-long (2021 ft) cable-stayed bridge , with 123-metre-tall (404 ft) towers. Two additional transit-only bridges, the North Arm Bridge and the Middle Arm Bridge , were built for the Canada Line. The North Arm Bridge is an extradosed bridge with

25842-598: The world. Largely as a result of this, the Expo and Millennium Lines have a combined punctuality record of over 96 percent; the principal cause of train delays is passenger interference with train doors. There have been two derailments during revenue service in the system's history. The SkyTrain network is fully mobility-needs accessible, including vehicles and stations. Mark I train cars have one designated wheelchair position, Mark II, Mark III and Hyundai Rotem cars have two, and all stations have elevators. TransLink upgraded all Expo Line platform station edges to match those on

26019-450: The yard. Additional VCCs were added as Skytrain expanded. Each VCC is a cluster of three IBM Type 7588 rack-mount single-board computers with Intel-IA32 Pentium processors and proprietary hardware in a fault-tolerant configuration. For example, VCC3 is composed of CPU1, CPU2, and CPU3. For every command that is sent to a train, at least two of the CPUs must agree with the action, otherwise an error

26196-416: The years the brewery changed hands and was operated by Labatts until it closed in 2005. In its place is a recent condo development known as the "Brewery District", although there is no brewery on the premises. New Westminster does have two breweries currently. One is named Steel & Oak which opened its doors in 2014 and is situated on the other end of the Westminster Quay. The other brewery in New Westminster

26373-439: Was 19,400 pphpd using six-car Mark I trains operating at 93-second headways. However, exclusively operating a fleet of five-car trains would increase the capacity to 25,700 pphpd if Mark II trains were used. Several options have been considered over the system's history to increase capacity on the Expo Line, including: In late 2020, TransLink ordered 41 Alstom Mark V trainsets in five-car configurations. These trains are based on

26550-420: Was 21.4 kilometres (13.3 mi) in length, starting at Waterfront station and terminating at New Westminster station . The newly built system had limited Sunday service until 1990, and shorter revenue hours during weekdays than SkyTrain's current revenue schedule as of 2010. During Expo 86, special shuttle trains ran from a third track at Stadium station, where there was a connection to the monorail serving

26727-470: Was a showcase station, Main Street had a different initial design from other stations on the Expo Line that came after it. For example, glass was featured in the station's design, but was missing from other original Expo Line stations, except Stadium station (now Stadium–Chinatown) since it was tied to the Expo grounds. Having preceded other stations on the line by three years, Main Street–Science World

26904-409: Was coined for the system during Expo 86 because the first line (Expo) principally runs on elevated guideway outside of Downtown Vancouver , providing panoramic views of the metropolitan area. SkyTrain uses the world's third-longest cable-supported transit-only bridge, known as SkyBridge , to cross the Fraser River . With the opening of the Evergreen Extension on December 2, 2016, SkyTrain became

27081-477: Was completed in 1963, and the school was opened and joined the New Westminster School District the following year. A second referendum was held in 1964, which garnered enough positive votes to make Connaught Heights Waterworks District part of New Westminster. By 1965, the amalgamation was officially complete, with Connaught Heights becoming the newest neighbourhood in New Westminster. Originally

27258-417: Was completed in May 2014, but they remained open until April 2016 owing to multiple system problems. While open for the nearly two-year period, holders of paper-based monthly passes, bus-issued transfers, and FareSaver tickets continued to pass through the gates into the stations' fare-paid zones unimpeded, although they were subject to having their fare inspected by transit security or transit police once inside

27435-621: Was conceived as a legacy project of Expo 86 and the first line was finished in time to showcase the fair's theme: "Transportation and Communication: World in Motion – World in Touch". Construction was funded by the provincial and federal governments and began in March 1982. It was built through the Dunsmuir Tunnel under downtown, which had originally been built for the Canadian Pacific Railway , to save costs. The first 21.4 kilometres (13.3 mi) of

27612-404: Was expanded again in 1994 with the opening of Gateway , Surrey Central , and King George stations. SkyTrain is part of the 1996 Greater Vancouver Regional District 's (GVRD) Livable Region Strategic Plan, which discusses strategies to deal with the anticipated increase of population in the region. These strategies include increasing transportation choices and transit use. The first section of

27789-482: Was extended to Columbia station and in 1990, once the Skybridge was finished, it continued across the Fraser River to Scott Road station in Surrey. In 1994, the terminus of the Expo Line became King George station in central Surrey. It was built on a budget of $ 854   million (1986 dollars). Effective October 22, 2016, Expo Line trains began operating on a new branch to Production Way–University station , taking over

27966-510: Was known (and also in old days as the " skookum house " in the English- Chinook Jargon patois common in early BC), was located between the Sapperton neighbourhood and what is now Queen's Park . It housed maximum-security prisoners for the next 102 years, closing in 1980. The original centre block of the Pen still stands and has been converted into offices. The Gatehouse, steps leading up to it and old Coal House still stand. The rest of

28143-471: Was located approximately where Royal City Manor is now. It was originally occupied by Colonel Richard Moody , who commanded the Columbia Detachment of Royal Engineers who established the city. Rarely used by Governor Douglas, its first full-time vice-regal resident was Governor Frederick Seymour . A former Canadian Pacific Railway station is adjacent to the New Westminster Skytrain station . It

28320-513: Was located to the west of the BC Pen and was adjacent to the offramps of the Pattullo Bridge. After it was closed, the derelict main building was, except for the tower entrance, destroyed by fire on July 9, 2008. In October 2011, all remaining old structures were leveled and cleared, to the joy of some former residents who had bad memories of their childhood experiences. New Westminster's Chinatown

28497-412: Was named for Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn . This station became the namesake for the neighbourhood, while the modern SkyTrain tracks follow the path of this historic tramway. Initially, the provincial government neglected the district, but as the density of residents increased so did the quality of amenities and civic services. In 1939, when there were approximately 200 homes, funding

28674-640: Was necessary to enhance SkyTrain security. Transit officers receive the same training as officers in municipal and RCMP forces. They may arrest people for outstanding warrants, enforce drug laws, enforce the criminal code beyond TransLink property, and deal with offences that begin off TransLink property and make their way onto it. They issue tickets for fare evasion and other infractions on SkyTrain, transit buses, SeaBus , and West Coast Express . Transit police officers and Transit Security officers inspect fares at Skytrain stations as part of TransLink's fare audit. Transit Security officers mostly focus their efforts on

28851-423: Was once fairly separate from the city proper, and has a neighbourhood commercial node along 12th Street and 20th Street approximately between London Street and Eighth Ave. The 12th Street area features antique and one-of-a-kind stores. Westminster Quay was a mid-1980s development to revitalize New Westminster and accompanied the development of the SkyTrain line to Vancouver. In addition to a large public market and

29028-482: Was one of the earliest established in the mainland colony and initially the second-largest after Victoria's . Prior to the rise of Vancouver's Chinatown it was the largest on the mainland following Barkerville 's wane as a centre of population. It was located along Front Street. A second Chinatown opened in an area known as "The Swamp" at the southwestern edge of downtown, bounded roughly by Royal Avenue, Columbia Street, and 8th and 12th Streets. The "Swamp" name

29205-417: 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

29382-489: Was opened on January 6, 2006. From October 22, 2016, to December 1, 2016, the Millennium Line operated from VCC–Clark to Lougheed Town Centre station. As of December 2, 2016, the Millennium Line operates between VCC–Clark station in Vancouver and Lafarge Lake–Douglas station in Coquitlam. The Millennium Line has 17 stations, three of which are transfer stations with the Expo Line (Commercial–Broadway, Production Way–University, and Lougheed Town Centre) and two which connect with

29559-402: Was originally developed by Alcatel and loaded from a 3.5" diskette . There were initially four systems called the vehicle control computer (VCC) with three divided over the mainline and one for the storage yard. VCC1 controls trains from Waterfront to Royal Oak; VCC2 controls trains from Royal Oak to King George (it now also controls a portion of the Millennium Line); and VCC3 controls trains in

29736-510: Was originally inhabited by Kwantlen First Nation . The discovery of gold in BC and the arrival of gold seekers from the south prompted fear amongst the settlers that Americans may invade to take over this land. Richard Clement Moody arrived in British Columbia in December 1858, at the head of the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment , having been hand picked to "found a second England on

29913-579: Was secured to improve the water and electric services under the Municipality Improvements Assistance Act 1938 . Before the improvements, District Lot 172 was designated as Connaught Heights Waterworks District under the Water Act. Following these improvements, land was set aside for a school and parksite. By the 1950s, the notion of incorporating Connaught Heights Waterworks District into New Westminster became more commonplace. In 1960,

30090-421: Was split into two parts. Construction began in 1987, with Columbia station opening on February 14, 1989, adding 600 metres (2,000 ft) of guideway in the City of New Westminster. The second segment opened on March 16, 1990, and included Scott Road station in Surrey , crossing the Fraser River via the purpose-built, cable-stayed " SkyBridge ", adding 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) to the line. Construction of

30267-569: Was still in place (the service ended in 1950). The quality of shops was such that even Vancouverites would make the trip by interurban rail or, later on, via Kingsway (originally called the Westminster Highway or Westminster Road), to shop on Columbia Street. In addition to the retailers, Columbia Street was home to major movie houses, the Columbia and the Paramount, rivalling in size and quality to those on Vancouver's Theatre Row. The freeway and

30444-581: Was suggested by Moody and the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment that the site be proclaimed "Queensborough". Governor James Douglas proclaimed the new capital with this name on February 14, 1859. The name "Queensborough", however, did not appeal to London and it was Queen Victoria who named the city after Westminster , that part of the British capital of London where the Parliament Buildings were, and are to this day, situated. From this naming by

30621-413: Was supplemented by controlled access – with the payment of a fare or proof of payment required to pass through a staffed gate – at special events where extremely high ridership was expected, such as immediately after BC Lions or Vancouver Canucks games. Installing faregates to prevent fare evasion was considered as early as at the time of the system's opening, but was rejected multiple times because

30798-421: Was supposed to be operational by 2013. A solution was finally implemented where the requirement to tap out of buses was removed and all bus travel was considered as within a single zone, creating significant savings for those travelling multiple zones using buses only and in some cases changing transit usage patterns. The last fare gates left open for users with accessibility issues were closed on July 25, 2016, and

30975-666: Was the system's only line during this time. In 2002, after the opening of the system's second line, the Millennium Line , the original line was given the name "Expo Line". The new name was in recognition of Expo 86 (the World's Fair that Vancouver hosted in 1986) as the transit system had been built in large part as a showcase and an attraction for that fair. The line is elevated from Stadium–Chinatown to New Westminster stations, except for short at-grade sections between Nanaimo and Joyce–Collingwood stations in East Vancouver , and around

31152-406: Was too slow and did not always record the tap which—because the system initially deducted a three-zone fare until a tap-out was recorded and a refund was issued to those having only travelled one or two zones—often resulted in customers being charged for travelling through three zones when in fact they had only travelled through one or two. This was a serious setback for TransLink as the entire system

31329-408: Was visibly older, and signs of rust and wear were showing before extensive renovations to the station were completed in 2014. 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

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