VANCOUVER | Public Transport

[Vancouverite]

A couple of shots I took recently of the completed second bored tunnel downtown.

My photo, taken March 3rd, 2008


My photo, taken March 3rd, 2008


Also a couple more that I took of the Broadway-City Hall precinct.


My photo, taken March 11th, 2008


My photo, taken March 11th, 2008


My photo, taken March 11th, 2008

[Daguy]

Some more photos of mine. The first set is from Friday, March 14th.


Vancouver City Centre Station

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Waterfront Station

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And these ones are from today.


Near and South of Olympic Station

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Broadway Station

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Broadway to 15th

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You can see that the tunnel is being filled in north of 12th now.
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I just noticed this very small section of unfinished tunnel around 13th or 14th today.
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Oakridge Station


You can see that the northbound side has its tracks layed now. The last time I took a picture of Oakridge was on March 4th so this has progressed very quickly.

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Langara Station


You can see the tracks here as well.
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[Brit Rail Man]

This thread is great,the update pictures you are all posting is showing how well the progress is going.

It's nice to see someone is investing in a city well,unlike hear in the UK where i work on some rail equipment that is 40 years old to keep the railway going.

Am starting to show an interest in wanting to work in the rail industry in Vancouver once it is all up & running.My line of work for the past 26 years is railway electrical maintenance.

My big question is will they be wanting people like me ?

The UK is just not investing in it's railway properly like your self.

[mr.x]

No turnstiles in time for Canada Line in 2009
Updated: Tue Mar. 18 2008 19:16:41

ctvbc.ca

Even as the Canada Line project enters the home stretch, one key part of the project won't be finished.

CTV News has learned that the new "London-style" smart card and turnstile system announced amid much fanfare is still in the design phase and won't be finished in time for the first train.

Having no turnstiles means a green light for riders who don't want to pay, said Evelina Halsey-Brandt, a Richmond city councillor.

"When the province committed to ensuring that turnstiles would be put in, I expected they would be in when the trains were," she said.

"We have the one item that's the easiest to do, to install something physical there and a barrier to keep people from accessing the area where they shouldn't be if they have not paid their fares," she said.

And that means that TransLink lags behind on the system for collecting fares at the Canada Line.





Turnstiles and smart-card payment system won't be installed in time for Canada Line's completion date
Image courtesy Canada Line
Tuesday, March 18 - 09:35:00 AM Katharine Kitts

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - The space has been designed for them but turnstiles and a smart-card payment system won't be installed in time for the Canada Line's completion date. TransLink says it's still studying the option.

They are Canada Line security measures that some Richmond city councillors view as pivotal, including Bill McNulty who says without turnstiles, the line isn't fully ready. He says these turnstiles are one of the safety features that adds to the line and also brings an attitude of welcoming people to use transit.

Drew Snider with TransLink says it would cost more to install and then maintain the security option, and adds they haven't found any proof that they would create safer stations. They feel a human presence would work better. Snider also says it's better to hire more security guards, more uniformed police officers and more surveillance equipment.

He says you really have to look at the accessibility issues with turnstiles and gating and so forth so that we don't wind up shutting out one sector of society while we're trying to catch the relative few people who evade fares or who commit crimes on SkyTrain.

Richmond city council also insists turnstiles are needed to reduce fare evasion. Whatever is decided, it won't be in place for when trains start running in late 2009.

Snider says they are studying the option but can't give a timeline on when we could see the system in place.

On Jan. 14, Premier Gordon Campbell and Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon announced details of the Provincial Transit Plan, an ambitious initiative that will cost in the neighbourhood of $14 billion and provide, and among other things, increased security measures to enhance transit safety and use.

[zivan56]

Originally Posted by Brit Rail Man

Am starting to show an interest in wanting to work in the rail industry in Vancouver once it is all up & running.My line of work for the past 26 years is railway electrical maintenance.

My big question is will they be wanting people like me ?

The UK is just not investing in it's railway properly like your self.

I guess you mean the Skytrain system and not general railways?
I don't see why they wouldn't hire you with all that experience...but there is probably not many jobs once the system is up and running.

[Brit Rail Man]

My line of work is to maintain a rail system that is operational,planned scheduled maintenance to ensure everything electrical keeps working by testing it.
I am not wanting to be a part of construction,that is normally contracted out.

[ssiguy2]

Canadian transit systems are dying for people like and wages are top-notch.
Not only is Vancouver expanding but so is Toronto. Its a mammoth $18 billion expansion over the next 11 years will include 200km of new Light Rapid Transit, 20km of new subway, and over 300km of extended and/or upgrades capacity expansion of commuter rail, the stuff you would be use to doing.
Canada is desperatly short of skilled labour and there are new programs offered by the federal and provincial governments to stream line applications for trades people and technicians.

[mr.x]

MTR OF THE WEST: Translink's $1.5B real estate empire
Authority to buy properties along rapid transit routes and form partnerships with developers

Randy Shore, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Metro Vancouver's transportation authority is launching a real estate division that could produce up to $1.5 billion in revenue over the next 10 years, modelled on an agency that has reshaped Hong Kong.

Under the plan, enabled by 10-week-old provincial legislation, TransLink will purchase land along new rapid transit routes and around stations and ramp up the value of the land through denser zoning and partnerships with land developers to create high-density commercial and residential developments.

Early estimates of the revenue stream from real estate transactions were in the range of $30 million per year over 10 years, TransLink CEO Pat Jacobsen told The Vancouver Sun's editorial board Tuesday.

But new TransLink chairman Dale Parker said he expects to generate four to five times that much. (that's up to $150-million a year)

"That figure is ambitious, but I think we can do it," Parker said.

TransLink has hired Phil Christie as vice-president of real estate to head the new division. Christie has managed publicly owned real estate for the provincial government for more than 25 years.

A great deal of density is going to go in around the SkyTrain stations, Parker said. "We are going to have to benefit from that."

"It means getting involved to a greater degree in real estate development."

Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon has told the new, appointed TransLink board to consider the business model used in Hong Kong in their decision-making processes.

Hong Kong's MTR employed a public-private partnership model to develop skyscrapers around subway stations so successfully that the real estate arm of the public transit system is now a publicly traded company.

With a $14-billion public transit plan just announced by the provincial government to fund, and public anger over property-based levies to fund operations, the board's need for a substantial revenue source couldn't be more pressing.

Under the provincial plan, which includes three rapid transit lines -- the Canada Line, the Evergreen Line in the northeast, and a Broadway line west of Commercial Drive -- about 1,000 new buses and a third SeaBus, TransLink is expected to pay $2.75 billion in capital costs while it expands bus service in the Fraser Valley.

Parker admitted that opportunities to generate real estate revenue on the Canada Line were missed and that the Evergreen Line will be the first real opportunity to leverage the value that rapid transit creates in any meaningful way.

Before this year, TransLink was legally empowered only to buy the land necessary for SkyTrain operations. Under new legislation, TransLink can now buy land around stations and along the right of way.

"It will take a lot of discussion with the municipalities, but the signals that we are getting from the mayors is that they know a lot of density is going to come with the line," Parker explained.

The scheme will fast-track high-density nodes in residential neighbourhoods along new rapid-transit routes, likely adding fuel to already raucous public hearings over proposed track alignments and station locations.

But Parker said that without revenue from real estate, building the rapid transit lines "will probably not be a top priority."

To build three rapid transit lines in a decade, TransLink will need to secure high-density zoning from municipalities to feed ridership and create opportunities to profit from the real estate appreciation, Jacobsen explained.

To acquire the land cheaply and beat out developers and speculators, TransLink will have early discussions about alignments and station locations and then quickly and quietly buy the land where stations are to be built.

Some of TransLink's real estate holdings may have to be sold to finance land purchases, Parker said. Translink owns land at Oakridge and False Creek in Vancouver as well as park-and-ride lots in other municipalities.

"Once you monetize those properties, you can invest in a station and the surrounding area," Parker said.

TransLink is likely to secure its first private-sector development partners within three months, he said.

rshore@png.canwest.com


© The Vancouver Sun 2008

[spongeg]

Originally Posted by Brit Rail Man

My line of work is to maintain a rail system that is operational,planned scheduled maintenance to ensure everything electrical keeps working by testing it.
I am not wanting to be a part of construction,that is normally contracted out.

Canada barely has any railways - jobs would be few and far between

you might get stuck in some small northern place where no one else wants to go

i don't know how often skytrain hires for what you do but its a niche field here

[ssiguy2]

I love how the big transit plan includes the RAV line when its already paid for and nearly finished.

[en]

Its about time they starting looking to Asia for new ideas regarding transit versus another "fact finding mission" to London or even worse, copying American transit "ideas" like putting heavy rail lines in the median of a freeway...

Given that Vancouver is Canada's so-called "Asia-Pacific Gateway", they really should look for new ideas and innovations from Asia, not places like...for example Portland, Ore.

[zivan56]

Originally Posted by Brit Rail Man

My line of work is to maintain a rail system that is operational,planned scheduled maintenance to ensure everything electrical keeps working by testing it.
I am not wanting to be a part of construction,that is normally contracted out.

I know you didn't mean construction related, but I have a feeling that those people who maintain the current Skytrain routes will simply have their jobs expanded to cover the Canada Line....with a few extra people hired. Although if there is a job open, you should apply...and would probably have a high chance of being accepted (granted being a foreign citizen might restrict you and give you a disadvantage).

[mr.x]

B.C. government firm on Canada Line turnstiles
Faregates 'going to happen,' says Transportation Minister Falcon

Andy Ivens and Frank Luba, The Province
Published: Thursday, March 20, 2008

While TransLink studies the issue of whether turnstiles should be installed on the Canada Line, there's no doubt in Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon's mind that they will be.

"It's going to happen," Falcon said yesterday. "We're going to work with TransLink. Obviously, we're going to be ponying up a substantial amount of the money to pay for this because it is a provincial initiative and a requirement.

"We've always been very clear that this is something that we will be doing. It's a question of how we'll do it with TransLink."

Earlier, TransLink spokesman Drew Snider said it was still weighing the merits of a "controlled access" system versus one that operates on the proof-of-payment honour principle.

"We are revisiting the whole thing," Snider told The Province.

"There's a working group working on that, to look through it again to see if there's a business case that can be made."

"We're not going to say anything more about it until the end of the year, when that group reports back."

A 2005 TransLink staff report concluded it would cost three to five times as much to set up and operate a controlled-access system as it would cut fare evasions under the current honour system.

"I don't accept the figures," said Falcon, who last year toured public-transit systems in London, Paris and Rotterdam.

"It's Pollyanna-ishly pessimistic in terms of what the likely gains are, and certainly inconsistent with other regions that have tried it," he said.

"The Netherlands saw an immediate boost to revenue the moment they put the gates in. The people felt safer while revenues climbed 30 per cent.

"They had a substantial climb in revenue growth and they had a substantial decline in criminal activity."

"This isn't about money, although I do think that will be a benefit."

"What it's really about is making sure travellers on the system, particularly women, can feel safer, knowing that they are in a secured environment that tends to keep out the kind of people who aren't going to pay money to harass people."

Falcon said Premier Gordon Campbell shares his strong views.

"That's the primary benefit as far as the premier and I are concerned," said Falcon.

"If we are going to encourage more people to use rapid transit, then anything we can do to make the experience safer and more user-friendly I think is a positive."

All stations on Canada Line, which is on schedule to begin service in November 2009, and the Millennium Line have been designed to accommodate "faregates," as modern turnstiles are called.

No such accommodation was made when the 22-year-old Expo Line was built.

Snider told the Richmond News this week that faregates and the proposed SmartCard fare system won't be ready in time for the new line's November 2009 launch.


TALLYING THE COSTS

A 2005 TransLink report indicated turnstiles would require extra staff at a cost of $25.1 million.

Add another $3.5 million annually for the capital cost of the equipment for a grand total of $28.6 million for turnstiles.

Cheating on the two existing SkyTrain lines costs TransLink an estimated $3.3 million annually, with the predicted evasion on the Canada Line being about $1 million.

If that $4.3 million is subtracted from the $28.6-million annual capital and operating cost, the annual cost for turnstiles would be $24.3 million.

The actual turnstile cost of $14.3 million is arrived at by subtracting another $10 million -- the cost of the 52 police officers that will be hired, regardless of gating.






Fraser Valley gas taxes may rise to improve transit
Politicians weigh joining TransLink to expand commuter service
David Carrigg, The Province
Published: Thursday, March 20, 2008

A Fraser Valley gas tax is being considered as a way to expand public transit in the region.

According to a recently released report on the Fraser Valley's transit system, commuters in Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Mission are underserved by a factor of "four or five, perhaps even more."

Mission Mayor James Atebe, a delegate to the Fraser Valley Regional District board, said district politicians must decide whether to join TransLink or continue to operate their own municipal transit service.

Either way, a fuel tax may be introduced to help pay for it.

Currently, six cents a litre of all gas sold in Metro Vancouver goes to TransLink, on top of the six cents a litre the provincial government gives to TransLink from the fuel tax it collects in Metro Vancouver.

If the regional district agrees to join TransLink, all or part of the TransLink gas tax may apply to the Fraser Valley.

"There's no firm model in place," said TransLink spokesman Ken Hardie.

"However, if the Fraser Valley is underserved and calls for expansion, that six cents a litre goes a long way."

The report, called Developing a Transportation Vision for the FVRD, says the best option to raise money for transit expansion is through either "a share of existing fuel taxes or increases to fuel taxes in the FVRD."

Atebe said property owners are already overburdened by taxes.

"We are trying to look for other sources of revenue. A fuel tax may be one of those options, so we don't have a heavier burden on property tax," he said.

The FVRD will do another study on transit in the region before deciding whether to join TransLink.

Hardie said TransLink is legally able to expand its service zone but the final decision rests with municipalities.

[mr.x]

Major update by Tafryn, March 17:
http://canadalinephotos.blogspot.com



YVR AIRPORT STATION














Old picture from Canadaline.ca






MARINE DRIVE STATION

















NORTH ARM BRIDGE - elevated guideway completed!






OAKRIDGE-41ST AVENUE STATION















BROADWAY-CITY HALL STATION
















VANCOUVER CITY CENTRE STATION

[DKaz]

Transit in the valley absolutely sucks right now.... it feels like every route is some sort of introductory route, half of the buses have something wrong with them including the one that does the first 31 run in the morning which veers slightly to one side when the driver presses on the brakes, another where the brakes lock up really easily so the driver has to pump it even for slowing down. The general attitude out here is that buses are for poor people and I think it's time for that image to change.

I'd love to see some sort of starter streetcar or LRT run from Clearbrook to Downtown Abby to UCFV (in my dreams). I also think they should extend the West Coast Express to Abby because a lot of the people come in from Abby.

[deasine]

Originally Posted by DKaz

Transit in the valley absolutely sucks right now.... it feels like every route is some sort of introductory route, half of the buses have something wrong with them including the one that does the first 31 run in the morning which veers slightly to one side when the driver presses on the brakes, another where the brakes lock up really easily so the driver has to pump it even for slowing down. The general attitude out here is that buses are for poor people and I think it's time for that image to change.

I'd love to see some sort of starter streetcar or LRT run from Clearbrook to Downtown Abby to UCFV (in my dreams). I also think they should extend the West Coast Express to Abby because a lot of the people come in from Abby.

I'm being hopeful, but that might happen after 2015 when the West Coast Express contract expires with CPR. And it's not that long of an extension.

They should also use the old interurban route as the South Fraser Express and run it to Abbotsford too.

Does anyone know when does the BC Transit buses be rebranded as TransLink ones or are they still keeping the BC Transit ones.

[mr.x]

TransLink sitting on some prime real estate

Randy Shore, Vancouver Sun
Published: Thursday, March 20, 2008

TransLink owns four properties worth $100 million that it could sell to generate seed money to start its new real estate division.

TransLink plans to use the division to purchase prime real estate around future rapid transit stations and then partner with developers and local municipalities to create denser zoning and develop the properties as a way to finance SkyTrain construction.

The regional transit authority already owns four prime pieces of real estate, including the 14-acre Oakridge transit centre, the 12-acre Coquitlam park-and-ride lot and two properties totalling three acres near False Creek.

The assessed value of the four parcels combined is almost $100 million, but up-zoning for high-density development could massively increase the value of the parcels.

The City of Coquitlam is anxious to work with TransLink's new real estate arm to ensure that the Evergreen Line is not shelved again.

"We've been passed over twice," said Coquitlam Mayor Maxine Wilson in a interview from Seattle. "We need that line."

TransLink chairman Dale Parker told The Vancouver Sun that by buying early and quickly reselling land along future SkyTrain routes, TransLink hopes to make between $100 million and $150 million each year over the next 10 years.

The money will help finance the construction of the UBC and Evergreen SkyTrain extensions.

The Evergreen Line will connect to the existing SkyTrain system, linking Lougheed Town Centre, Coquitlam Town Centre and Douglas College. The line is slated for completion in 2014.

Parker said real estate revenue is essential to building projects such as the Evergreen Line. TransLink must come up with $2.75 billion as its share of the provincial government's $14-billion transit expansion, announced earlier this year.

Property around TransLink's 12-acre Coquitlam park-and-ride lot has already been zoned to allow towers up to 37 storeys, an outcome that would ensure the regional transportation authority would get far more than the $14-million assessed value of the land when it is sold.

Wilson was not surprised to learn of TransLink's plan to mimic the stunning success of Hong Kong MTR's real estate division.

MTR generates billions of dollars in revenue through its developments in Hong Kong.

"[Transportation Minister] Kevin Falcon said when he announced the Evergreen Line that $400 million would have to be raised other ways," Wilson said. "This is the other way.

"The capital dollars for the Evergreen Line have to be raised somehow and it's either going to come from the taxpayer through federal and provincial transfers or property tax if TransLink doesn't use more creative methods," she said.

"The land will have to be rezoned and go through the public hearing process," Wilson said. Community amenities like local libraries and non-market housing will have to be part of the deal as well, she said.

"But over the last few years there has been no opposition to increased density in the town centre."

[ssiguy2]

Actually transit in Chilliwack isn't bad. I think that's due to the way the city is set up. Its very long so most routes take the one main drag which runs from north to south which includes the older northern area, downtown, UCFV, the main malls/big box, along the densly populated Yale all the way up to the massive new developments, and the RCMP training grounds of the former forces base.
Anyway, the first thing they should do is start up commuter bus routes into Vancouver with stops atNorth Langley, Guilford, Lougheed.
Reserecting the old Cloverdale route is too expensive for the ridership returned. It will also do squat for people trying to get into Vancouver/NuWest. It would simply be far too long a trip. It would take up to an hour and a half to get downtown. People will not hop on transit for that.
An excellent example of how it could work would be like the #351 to White Rock. A stop at Lougheed would be great for SkyTrain connections to NuWest, Metrotown, SFU, and PoCo/Tri Cities.
The buses could run from Aldergrove, Abbotsford, Chilliwack.

[mr.x]

Updates by Tafryn, March 18:
http://canadalinephotos.blogspot.com/




WATERFRONT STATION

[van-island]

Originally Posted by en

Its about time they starting looking to Asia for new ideas regarding transit versus another "fact finding mission" to London or even worse, copying American transit "ideas" like putting heavy rail lines in the median of a freeway...

Given that Vancouver is Canada's so-called "Asia-Pacific Gateway", they really should look for new ideas and innovations from Asia, not places like...for example Portland, Ore.

Absolutely. Japan has by far the world's best transit system hands down in my opinion (and I've ridden every system that might compete) and yet they are virtually non existent in terms of informing our transit system decisions.