As Metro Vancouver’s population grows, its transit authority is facing more SkyTrain struggles.
TransLink’s CEO is admitting they were short-sighted when building the Canada Line — and now faces a tough choice about how to combat the problem.
The service has taken a step towards addressing demand by ordering at least 22 new train cars specifically for the Canada Line, which are set to be in place by next year at the earliest.
But the stations along the line, which connects downtown Vancouver to Richmond and the airport, were only built to handle two-car trains, meaning TransLink has two expensive options: dig out and expand the platforms, or add more frequent service.
TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond says that in the short term, adding more cars is just about all they can do.
“It’s a little bit of a challenge, ultimately, how much throughput we can get on the Canada Line,” Desmond said at a recent Surrey Board of Trade luncheon.
“At least in the near term, in the next 10, 15 years, we think just adding cars” will curb demand to an extent, he added.
WATCH: A new performance review says TransLink ridership has seen the biggest jump since the 2010 Winter Olympics. Ted Chernecki explains why.
But the problem is expected to only get worse in the years ahead, as massive condo development along the Cambie Street corridor — which the Canada Line runs underneath — will soon lead to a spike in ridership, due to people moving to the area partly for easy access to transit.
Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson said poor planning and limited foresight are largely to blame for what TransLink is facing now.
“My sense of the Canada Line was that it was kind of scrimping and saving and not thinking long-term,” he said.
Dresmond is promising TransLink will avoid making the same mistake when construction begins on the upcoming Broadway extension of the Millennium Line, which could begin as early as 2019.
Robertson said the city needs to do a better job of planning for the long-term future when undertaking massive projects.
“When we do these larger projects… we have to think 100 years out,” the mayor said. “We have to think big picture.
With files from Ted Chernecki
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