Canada Line | Completed

[TransitJack]

Originally Posted by nname

Found this in the images I've taken yesterday:


I think they are running more trains during evening right now (notice the 6:49PM)? I wonder if this is just temporary for the first week.. I'd hope we got this kind of frequency all day!

Note: I walked up the stair to the mezzanine immediately after my train left the station, so the photo was taken about 1min after the previous train left..

^ there must have been a delay up the line, which caused trains to back up, the system reflects the actual time until they arrive, so I suggest it was only a result of a back up.

[CBeats]

Originally Posted by YYCguys

Hey Everyone! I'm from Calgary and am planning a trip to Vancouver at the beginning of next month. How long is the train ride from the Airport to Downtown via the new Canada Line? Does one have to change trains anywhere? And is there space, at least on one of the cars, to put luggage (I hope the planners who planned an Airport line thought of that!)?

It's about 25 min from the airport to downtown. There is ample space for luggage on all trains. You don't have to change trains anywhere.

[TransitJack]

Originally Posted by nname

One train I took was running about 2 minutes ahead of schedule, so we waited for close to 2 minutes outside of Oakridge-41st station to let an invisible train to clear the platform... And I was near the front of the train, so I'm sure that there was nothing we can see that's holding the platform...

something probably set off the intrusion system... this holds the train out of the station until the issues is identified and resolved.

[Metro-One]

Seems some political undertones may be at work, people who are *hoping* the line fails

haha, its so true, on one page the story is how it is affecting taxi drivers because most of their customer base is taking the train from the airport to downtown, then the next story is the LRT people saying how no one will take it to and from the airport. Then there are those saying no one will take it because of the "added transfers" and "longer travel times" and then the same people complain how small it is and under-built (and they do not bother to mention the possibility of increased frequencies or the possible c-car) and how its already crowded!

It's so funny!

These people are all over the map and it voids any of their arguments because they are so inconsistent!

Anyways, I love the line! Taking it yesterday the cars inside have a grand feeling (especially if you are up by the front or back windows). It is very smooth and quiet and so much faster than driving that stretch from downtown to Richmond! Not to mention that people taking the WCE in the morning can now transit as far away as Maple Ridge and Mission now to the airport!

[YYCguys]

Thanks YS and CB! I appreciate the info! Cheers! (Hope that someday YYC gets train service, but I think it's a wish that will never become reality due to the fact that the taxi drivers here have made their case loud and clear to what seems to be sympathetic ears at City Hall!)

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

and then the same people complain how small it is and under-built (and they do not bother to mention the possibility of increased frequencies or the possible c-car) and how its already crowded!

Well, i do think that comment is fair. Not necessarily the trains that are crowded, but several of the busier stations do get crowded quite quickly. The small platforms don't allow that many people to wait on the platform for the train.

It's so funny!

These people are all over the map and it voids any of their arguments because they are so inconsistent!

Anyways, I love the line! Taking it yesterday the cars inside have a grand feeling (especially if you are up by the front or back windows). It is very smooth and quiet and so much faster than driving that stretch from downtown to Richmond! Not to mention that people taking the WCE in the morning can now transit as far away as Maple Ridge and Mission now to the airport!

lol, i can't wait for my second ride on it.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by agrant

Well, he said "wherever they have these things...". So as far as he knows, no airport link has ever met ridership projections.

One thing that came to mind - Vancouver has a particularly dense downtown residential population (as well as a compact dpwntown) - so that may add to usage of the line - assuming these people travel a lot. I would expect that ridership would be lower among those that have to transfer to get to the airport.

Originally Posted by DKaz

YYCGuys, 26 minutes and no transfer required. Hopefully your hotel is within walking distance to a station. There is an area for luggage on each car, just look for a void space.

I think there's a taxi stand at Waterfront Station if necessary... (it would be tough to find a taxi at City Centre Station, esp. with constrution in the area)

Originally Posted by twoNeurons

The Province suggested the name "Canada Line" not to appease the Federal Government, but rather to put it into the media that the federal government was funding it and give that federal government some exposure. It was in essence to say we will not forget that you gave us some coin to make this line.
.

If I recall correctly, the Feds also helped fund the Expo Line (at least the vehicles) but it took maybe 20 years (maybe 10 years) until the Federal contribution was acknowledged with logos on those trains.

Originally Posted by deasine

YVR-Airport Stn

Photography by Deasine - Hosted on Picasa Web Albums - Creative Commons Protected

Thanks - interesting orientation - I would have thought it would face the passengers in the station - but it looks great from outside the station. Also surpised that it is exposed to the weather - so I expect it'll age like a totem pole would.

[SpongeG]

when i was on the train on wednesday - i overheard the one canada line worker saying that they were very understaffed and that she said they will be hiring in the next few months cause its been overwhelming and there is a lack of staff - where does one apply?

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

when i was on the train on wednesday - i overheard the one canada line worker saying that they were very understaffed and that she said they will be hiring in the next few months cause its been overwhelming and there is a lack of staff - where does one apply?

http://www.protransbc.com/

[theQ]

There is a posting for "skytrain attendant" on this page... I'm not sure if it's for skytrain or canada line or both though...

http://www.skytrain.info/Employment.aspx

[SpongeG]

danka

[vango]

Hope they improve the wayfinding at Waterfront soon. The only signs are at the ends of the platform and the one for the Granville exit is mostly obscured by the escalator. Inside the main station there were several bewildered people looking for the Canada Line. When I pointed to the entrance they said "oh, we didn't see the sign". "Canada Line" is printed on the blue sign with a tiny font. It wouldn't cost much to correct this and would be a great help to tourists and new users.

[SpongeG]

its pretty obvious to see the stairs though there

but yes its lacking signage - that single escalator really obscures the fact that there are stairs and an elevator somewhere back there

[DKaz]

I got off at Yaletown-Roundhouse Station for a bit to see how deep this station really was. I was expecting something deep like Lucien-L'Allier Station in Montreal which required walking up 4 long flights of stairs or something from the ticket mezzanine, 27.6m = about 9 to 10 storeys (and there was no elevator or escalator, and I had luggage with me).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucien-L'Allier_(Montreal_Metro)

Yaletown-Roundhouse Station is 17m deep, but it's only two escalators up from the ticketting mezzanine. I think Granville Station is deeper, is it not?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaletown-Roundhouse_Station

• There's hardly any signage at YVR, but amazing that there were MANY travellers with luggage who were making their ways to the train anyway.
• I didn't notice the slowdown heading south because I was too busy on my iPhone. I did notice the slow down going back north but it doesn't seem as bad as people here are making it out to be.
• The jerkiness is no different from any other heavy rail vehicle based system I've ever been in. It's actually relatively smooth and refined on the Canada Line IMO.
• They could probably shave a minute or two off the travel times. For example the trains could probably approach the stations at higher speeds, I hope they experiment 1km/h at a time.

I still absolutely love the Canada Line.

[NetMapel]

Since I take the #351 traveling all the way from White Rock, I wanted to know how the integration will affect my commute. I was really hyped about Canada Line and attended the opening day for celebration. So I mapped out my future commute with and without the Canada Line using Translink's own trip planner. Suffice to say, I am not particularly happy about the official numbers given by Translink.

Without the Canada Line:


With Canada Line:


Somebody tell me, why should I be happy about this ? The only good thing from this seems to be the decrease fare costs.

[SpongeG]

time to move

[DKaz]

Um, the first itinerary is for 5am on a Friday, the second is for 5pm on a Holiday with just a single zone fare for all zones. Do September 8 instead.

[Unregistered]

Might be faster to get off at Yaletown instead and just walk instead of waiting for a bus to take you a few blocks.

[mr.x]

That sucks...on the bright side, the 351 comes a lot more often and will be much more reliable. And your trip across the Fraser and in Vancouver using the Canada Line will also be more reliable as well.

[NetMapel]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Might be faster to get off at Yaletown instead and just walk instead of waiting for a bus to take you a few blocks.

That's what I plan on doing, haha. Apparently there should be a C21 that travels along Pacific Blvd to Beach Ave but that's not showing up on the trip planner...

#351 used to travel along Seymour Street so I get off at Davie/Seymour for the walk towards my destination. Now it'll be 2 extra blocks of walk, haha.

Originally Posted by mr.x

That sucks...on the bright side, the 351 comes a lot more often and will be much more reliable. And your trip across the Fraser and in Vancouver using the Canada Line will also be more reliable as well.

Yeah I looked at the new #351 schedule already and am mostly impressed with it. It starts off about a half-hour bus frequency at around 4-6am and then 15-minute frequency afterward. What's a little bit annoying is that it'll suddenly drop from a 15-minute frequency at around 10pm to a 1 hour frequency, haha. I'll have to adjust my schedule so I wake up early and leave early, I guess.