Millennium Line - Evergreen Extension | Completed

[mr.x]

Coquitlam Central Station will be located at the Coquitlam transit
exchange site. The Coquitlam transit exchange site is a key
regional transportation hub integrating West Coast Express
service, local and regional bus connections, passenger pickup
and drop-off, and parking. Coquitlam Central Station will also
be designed to accommodate a potential future extension of the
Evergreen Line to Port Coquitlam.

[Metro-One]

There is some good thinking!

[mr.x]

If all goes according to plan, the Evergreen Line is going to be "built right". It's going to be a long-lasting line, not just for today but tomorrow as well, unlike the one i've been ranting for the last few years and that just opened.

The only thing that could pose a concern, as officedweller also mentioned, is the track switch at Lougheed.


Isn't it great to have a line designed for as a public good rather than being shoved through a door just to get "anything built" and to be taken hostage on the design of the line?

[twoNeurons]

Originally Posted by mr.x

Coquitlam Central Station will be located at the Coquitlam transit
exchange site. The Coquitlam transit exchange site is a key
regional transportation hub integrating West Coast Express
service, local and regional bus connections, passenger pickup
and drop-off, and parking. Coquitlam Central Station will also
be designed to accommodate a potential future extension of the
Evergreen Line to Port Coquitlam.

I noticed that too. I guess that means that eventually, Douglas Station (and potentially Pinetree) will share frequency with Port Coquitlam. Shouldn't be too much of a problem as most passengers will be getting on/off at Coquitlam Central... but it means that assuming the M-Line still goes to VCC, there will be effectively three destinations on one line.

• M-Line to Waterfront
• EG-Line to Douglas College
• EG-Line to Port Coquitlam.

A more convenient solution would've been having the guideway along Guildford, where you wouldn't need a spur, you'd just need to keep going South-East, but oh well.

[deasine]

I would think the platform thing is simply an overlook from the artist. You can't really see very clearly from the photo anyway.

[DKaz]

Originally Posted by twoNeurons

A more convenient solution would've been having the guideway along Guildford, where you wouldn't need a spur, you'd just need to keep going South-East, but oh well.

x2

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by twoNeurons

• M-Line to Waterfront
• EG-Line to Douglas College
• EG-Line to Port Coquitlam.

I suspect that M-Line won't still go to VCC - it'll short-turn at Lougheed - especally since that "shuttle" was proposed for the M-Line between Columbia and Lougheed. That also makes sense wrt the lack of the basket weave to North Road. I could see every 5th train or something similar running the segment between Columbia to Lougheed and short-turning.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by nname

They can build a station like this, with walkway connecting the platform above (much like Edmonds station)...

I suppose, but that's pretty bulky, plus the beams for the station platforms take up space too and sufficient clearance would still have to be allowed for them to be added later.

[BCPhil]

Originally Posted by twoNeurons

A more convenient solution would've been having the guideway along Guildford, where you wouldn't need a spur, you'd just need to keep going South-East, but oh well.

x3

[BCPhil]

Originally Posted by officedweller

I suspect that M-Line won't still go to VCC - it'll short-turn at Lougheed - especally since that "shuttle" was proposed for the M-Line between Columbia and Lougheed. That also makes sense wrt the lack of the basket weave to North Road. I could see every 5th train or something similar running the segment between Columbia to Lougheed and short-turning.

A shuttle service would be horrible!

A lot of people catch the Waterfront Bound train at Lougheed and Production Way. And not everyone is only going as far as Columbia or transferring into Surrey. Many ride around that way and continue on pass Columbia to Metrotown. Going West to Brentwood then taking the 130 takes twice as long getting to Metrotown as taking the Skytrain the "long" way.

And if you live near New West Station and go to SFU, that means you will have to catch an Expo Line train, transfer to the Shuttle at Columbia, then Transfer to Evergreen at Lougheed to get to Production Way.

On top of that, I don't think it would be practical at Columbia. During the rush, there are a lot of trains on the Expo line (all needed so you can't reduce frequency) and having a train enter Columbia, then back out would slow down the hole system and trains would be backed up on the Skybridge.

Even if you had Millennium line trains run the Expo line then short turn at Lougheed, you still introduce a lot of unneeded transfers.

And in all honesty, the Millennium line could use the increase in train frequency. In the morning quite a crowd would gather at Lougheed (heading BOTH ways) and trains would be full upon leaving the station. And at peak hours in the afternoon it can be quite a wait at Commercial heading east and the platform fills up pretty quickly. If the trains ran twice as frequent, it would boost travel times, and the number of riders. Waiting for the train at Commercial would be so bad sometimes, that if I actually had a chair on a Millennium line train leaving Granville, I would stay on it all the way to Lougheed to avoid the wait at Commercial. If M-Line trains were twice as frequent, I would have always transfered.

And once the Millennium line is extended towards UBC, the extra trains along the Millennium line are going to be required. At that point it would make sense, logistically to have trains go from Waterfront to UBC, because the number of trains needed on the extension would be much greater than what would be needed in Coquitlam, and the E/M trunk can always use most trains possible.

[officedweller]

I expect that Expo Line trains would run from Waterfront to Lougheed to short turn - I really doubt the shuttle would ever be implemented - as you've mentioned, because of the reversing issue at Columbia. I could see every 5th train or so being a Lougheed train if the Expo Line passenger traffic far exceeds M-Line traffic.

We do know there will be through service from Coquitlam to VCC - it's mentioned in the materials.

Conceivably, service frequently on the trunk part of the M-Line could be maintained by short-turning Lougheed <-> VCC trains.

If through service at Lougheed from the Expo Line is maintained, then Evergreen and Expo/M-Line trains will have to stop at a common platform - the track plan will have to allow that with high frequency.
I did have a scheme for that - See page 5 of the thread - but the official RTP2000 plan posted by Steelwheels was better.

[The_Henry_Man]

I think the station name "Douglas College" is lame. About changing that name to "Westwood Plateau" or just "Westwood"? It better reflects the area that the station is serving.

I bet one of the 2 future stations will be Lincoln. The current configuration of Coquitlam Central Station will never effectively serve residents living besides Coquitlam Mall or the shoppers at that mall. It's too far for people to walk. Lincoln will address that, plus inject some more new shoppers to Henderson Mall at the same time (that place is SO dead). The decision not to include Lincoln station in its core Evergreen Line plans is just beyond me.

[Metro-One]

I still think the best idea would be to have alternating trains going from VCC to Coquitlam and VCC to Columbia, while the Expo line will become 100% Waterfront to King George.

It is the best plan IMO. If need be, 2 of 3 trains can be VCC to Coquitlam and 1 of 3 VCC to Columbia.

[metroXpress]

I would love to see something like this:

EG-Line (1) Douglas <--> UBC
EG-Line (2) Port Moody <--> UBC
M-Line Waterfront <--> Lougheed
Expo-Line Waterfront <--> King George

And what would happen at Commerical Broadway is:

Platform 1: UBC (EG LINE)
Platform 2: Douglas / Port Moody (EG LINE)
Platform 3: Waterfront (Expo Line/M-Line)
Platform 4: King George/Lougheed (Expo Line/M-Line)


========

Lougheed Station:

Platform 1: Terminus Station for M-Line (heading back to Waterfront)
(cross transfer to go to UBC)
Platform 2: UBC (EG Line)
(For transfer to Coquitlam, you go down then up to get to Coquitlam Platform.)
Platform3: Douglas / Port Moody (EG Line)

[The_Henry_Man]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

I still think the best idea would be to have alternating trains going from VCC to Coquitlam and VCC to Columbia, while the Expo line will become 100% Waterfront to King George.

It is the best plan IMO. If need be, 2 of 3 trains can be VCC to Coquitlam and 1 of 3 VCC to Columbia.

x2

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by The_Henry_Man

The decision not to include Lincoln station in its core Evergreen Line plans is just beyond me.

It's like a negotiating tactic to get money out of the owner of the mall - Morguard Investments. If the City of Coquitlam is smart, it would leverage funding of the station against upzoning of the mall parking lots for high density housing.
The proximity of Coquitlam Central Station means that Lincoln Station isn't a core station like Lansdowne, Richmond-Brighouse, Brentwood or Lougheed (other mall stations), so you can play this negotating game. At Vancouver City Centre Station, the City of Vancouver gained the cooperation of Cadillac Fairview for locating the entrance on mall property (instead of on the sidewalk) and integrating the station with the mall in connection with the rezoning for the Holt Renfrew store.

[GeeCee]

Originally Posted by The_Henry_Man

I think the station name "Douglas College" is lame. About changing that name to "Westwood Plateau" or just "Westwood"? It better reflects the area that the station is serving.

I agree somewhat. Westwood is the name of a street SE of where the station will be, which ends just south of the park nearby.. close enough to cause confusion.

Westwood Plateau is a problematic name for a few reasons, the least of which being that Westwood Plateau is a trademarked/copyrighted name, I believe, to Wesbuild: http://www.wesbild.com/ It's not actually on what most people consider to be Westwood Plateau either, and I doubt we will ever see mass transit of any sort up there in the future due to the low density. I'm sure the station will see many users from the Westwood Plateau area, but I think the main users will be students attending Douglas College.

[deasine]

The shuttle service would work well if there were three tracks at Columbia, where the centre track (with platforms on both sides, then the Expo Line tracks) is for the shuttle service. That way, transferring between lines is easy. I'm surprised Columbia wasn't, at least, built with three tracks like Stadium, since they were expecting to extend the SkyTrain to Coquitlam.

[mooks28]

If anything, call the station Pipeline, after the street, or LaFarge, after the lake...

[hollywoodnorth]

Originally Posted by deasine

The shuttle service would work well if there were three tracks at Columbia, where the centre track (with platforms on both sides, then the Expo Line tracks) is for the shuttle service. That way, transferring between lines is easy. I'm surprised Columbia wasn't, at least, built with three tracks like Stadium, since they were expecting to extend the SkyTrain to Coquitlam.

at the time of Columbia construction there was no clean consensus of what route to use to get to Lougheed and then Coquitlam

for the longest time the route was from EDMONTON STATION to LOUGHEED MALL along Edmonds and Caribou.

other proposals were for Columbia under Sapperton OR the Lougheed Highway from Broadway station.

obviously the later 2 were build all be it not under Sapperton but around it.