SkyTrain Station Renovations

[jollyburger]

The Metrotown station escalators were installed around the same time it will be interesting to see how long they keep those in service.

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by madog222

The RFP says all three are 9 or 10 years old and have a design life of 10 years.

10 years seems awfully short for an escalator, is it not? To my recollection the long escalators at Granville Station have been replaced only once, so that gives them a service life of at least 20 years. What is the lifetime of a typical escalator, anyway?

[madog222]

Originally Posted by aberdeen5698

10 years seems awfully short for an escalator, is it not? To my recollection the long escalators at Granville Station have been replaced only once, so that gives them a service life of at least 20 years. What is the lifetime of a typical escalator, anyway?

Granville was done at the end of last decade so the original escalators were 33 years old at the point.

[cganuelas1995]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Maybe too many syringes caught in the mechanisms.

It's probably the toxic crust-punk addict piss gunking up and corroding the mechanisms too. It's all concentrated.

[cganuelas1995]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Design life of 10 years and replacement timeline of 5 years.

Designed obsolescence?

[NewfBC]

It's probably a lack of cleaning/ maintenance. Skytrain (and especially Canada Line) stations are filthy. Have a look around the stations on the airport branch of CL.. I don't think they've been cleaned since they've been built. So much grime and rust at YVR .. great image for visitors.

Ron.

[bloomtronzero]

Always imagined that being exposed to the elements must be hell on the escalators. I'm sure "planned obsolescence" and stuff plays in like it does in everything, too, but getting soaked with rainwater and mud off shoes, being open to the outside air, and carrying the volumes of people they do, they kinda take far more of a beating than most other escalators.

You don't hear me not complaining, though.

[cganuelas1995]

Originally Posted by bloomtronzero

Always imagined that being exposed to the elements must be hell on the escalators. I'm sure "planned obsolescence" and stuff plays in like it does in everything, too, but getting soaked with rainwater and mud off shoes, being open to the outside air, and carrying the volumes of people they do, they kinda take far more of a beating than most other escalators.

You don't hear me not complaining, though.

Yeah I reckon they could just go with a more durable model but I reckon they just go for the lowest bidder like everyone does.

[jollyburger]

Elevators getting replaced as well but they don't mention which ones

https://portal.us.bn.cloud.ariba.com/discovery/public/rfx/23267118/preview?createdVia=NOT_DISCOVERY

[madog222]

TL has RFPs up for design of Gilmore upgrades and for feasibility studies for Production Way and Sperling.

[idunno]

Oo I wonder if the Gilmore Station upgrades will include new entrances on the east side to Gilmore Place!

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by idunno

Oo I wonder if the Gilmore Station upgrades will include new entrances on the east side to Gilmore Place!

Provide additional vertical circulation, improve customer amenities, increase retail space and bring station, as a whole, up to current standards.

https://www.translink.ca/-/media/transli...operating-and-capital-budget-summary.pdf

[xd_1771]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

I think the east escalators got replaced as well.

The east side entrance in the past was a staircase (there was no escalator at all).

Since the west side mezzanine was lowered to street level (the original mezzanine was at a mid-level accessed via stairs/ramp from ground level), all of those escalators are new, none of them are from pre-renovation.

That means all of the escalators at Main Street are currently less than 10 years old (the renovations were completed in February 2016).

I do find it quite peculiar that they are up for replacement already

[jollyburger]

Station Upgrade Feasibility Studies

Project Summary: Through this RFP, TransLink is seeking a qualified and experienced contractor to provide feasibility studies for Production Way University and Sperling Burnaby Lake Stations.

https://portal.us.bn.cloud.ariba.com/discovery/public/rfx/23393836/preview

[madog222]

Columbia Station upgrades will be included in Translink's 2027 Investment Plan.

https://www.translink.ca/-/media/transli...council--public-mtg--oct-2-2025--web.pdf

[greenturnedblue]

Originally Posted by madog222

Columbia Station upgrades will be included in Translink's 2027 Investment Plan.

https://www.translink.ca/-/media/transli...council--public-mtg--oct-2-2025--web.pdf

Anyone want to guess what sort of upgrades will be part of the plan?

[Metro-One]

Anything short of a near complete rebuild with a third track / platform is a waste of time and money. With such an improvement some trains from Langley could terminate at Columbia without interfering with operations between The Waterfront and Production Way. Likewise trains running from Arbutus could terminate at Columbia. It’s a natural location for a hub.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Anything short of a near complete rebuild with a third track / platform is a waste of time and money. With such an improvement some trains from Langley could terminate at Columbia without interfering with operations between The Waterfront and Production Way. Likewise trains running from Arbutus could terminate at Columbia. It’s a natural location for a hub.

The initial part of your comment is clearly not true. Columbia suffers at times from overcrowding, is now 35 years old, is tired, and was not initially designed as a transfer station. The intention is to improve station accessibility, customer flow, and capacity. A third track would need land acquisition and construction costs that are almost certainly well beyond any reasonable expectations of the sort of budget that will be available. With unlimited funds, a third track would make a lot of sense. With limited funds, Columbia still badly needs a makeover.

[Metro-One]

So you want to do a major renovation, the cost / the disruption, not once, but twice? Because the third track / platform WILL be needed sooner rather than later, especially with the opening of the Expo Line extension to Langley.

Sounds wise!

The better idea then is to do nothing (outside of standard signage updates / upkeep) until funds are available for a proper renovation.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

So you want to do a major renovation, the cost / the disruption, not once, but twice? Because the third track / platform WILL be needed sooner rather than later, especially with the opening of the Expo Line extension to Langley.

Sounds wise!

The better idea then is to do nothing (outside of standard signage updates / upkeep) until funds are available for a proper renovation.

"The intention is to improve station accessibility, customer flow, and capacity" is a quote from TransLink - that was the intention for the Columbia Station upgrade. If TransLink thought a third track was a priority, and achievable, my guess that they would have used a different word than 'upgrade'. We'll see in a couple of years.

You might be right and it's possible they can find a way for an expansion to happen (and that's what they mean by'capacity'), but I wouldn't bet on it, given all the other things they're trying to achieve elsewhere. There's no guarantee that there will even be enough money to satisfactorily address the accessibility, customer flow, and capacity needs, and those certainly need to be tackled - a bit of paint and some new signs won't be enough.