Millennium Line - Evergreen Extension | Completed

[madog222]

Room for the guideway through the forested section in Coquitlam (Pinetree at Guildford way) has been cleared. It should not be too long before we see columns going up on that side, I count only 10-12 more to do along North road.

Some photos taken by me today.





Looks like there is a short pair of steel girders still to come, transitioning to concrete on the top of the next column.

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by Olden Retreiver

There is no good reason for this, just several really bad reasons based on some geometries that were built into Lougheed Station years ago. Apparently no one ever heard of a jackhammer or a concrete saw to fix it properly, so the elaborate elevated track is the workaround solution.

That's sad.

Thanks.

[officedweller]

Great shots madog!
Thanks!

******

Press release:

http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2014/03/next-step-towards-evergreen-line-completion.html


http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcgovphotos/12996034825/

PORT MOODY - Today Premier Christy Clark was joined by the Honourable James Moore, Minister Responsible for British Columbia and Member of Parliament for Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam, B.C.'s Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Todd Stone, and TransLink board chair Marcella Szel in announcing the start of Evergreen Line tunnel construction and officially naming the tunnel boring machine.

The machine has been named "Alice", after Alice Wilson, Canada's first female geologist. It is tradition in the tunnel boring industry to name machines.

...

"... Once the Evergreen Line is complete, B.C. will have the longest rapid transit network in Canada at 79 km in length."
...

Funding for the Evergreen Line is a partnership between the Government of Canada, the Government of British Columbia and TransLink, costing $1.43 billion. The Government of Canada is contributing up to $424 million ($350 million from the Building Canada Fund, $67 million from the Public Transit Capital Trust Fund, and $7 million from the P3 Fund), the Government of B.C. is contributing $586 million, and other partners are contributing $21 million. TransLink is contributing the remaining $400 million and will operate the system when it opens.

Pics from TransBC Flickr:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/tranbc/sets/72157632226282626/with/12331006505/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/tranbc/sets/72157632226282626/with/12331006505/

[jbrizzy]

Originally Posted by nname

The Evergreen Line Multimodal Integration Project has this item:

• wayfinding improvements across the rapid transit system to inform customers of the new operating pattern and enhance navigation.

So I guess any rebranding is probably already included in the budget. As far as I know, they want to standardize the signs across all SkyTrain stations (beside Canada Line) to the same new standard now used in New Westminster (large blue station sign at entrance, white sign with color strips at bottom to indicate line of operation, platform numbers, operating pattern map at platform, the big T, etc, as shown in this document). So they would probably have to change all the signs anyways.

Some of the Expo stations already have the dual Expo/Millennium Line signs. They would have to replace them if the first options is used.

The signs at New West (white background with the blue/yellow stripe and the expo/millennium tabs) are just terrible and communicate poorly. If you had no idea walking up to the station you could assume that one platform was for the expo line and one platform for the millennium line (evident at 22nd).

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by jbrizzy

The signs at New West (white background with the blue/yellow stripe and the expo/millennium tabs) are just terrible and communicate poorly. If you had no idea walking up to the station you could assume that one platform was for the expo line and one platform for the millennium line (evident at 22nd).

Definitely. I thought I was familiar with the system but when I used 22nd Street Station for the first time I was confused. It makes it seem like the train going one way is the Expo line, and the train going the other is Millennium.

[MIPS]

What ever happened to the Inbound/Outbound, Eastbound/Westbound signage? They changed them several times and then they started to vanish completely.

[madog222]

Originally Posted by MIPS

What ever happened to the Inbound/Outbound, Eastbound/Westbound signage? They changed them several times and then they started to vanish completely.

Gets confusing with lines that loop back on themselves, if one wanted to go downtown from Lougheed or Brentwood they would take an outbound/eastbound train.

[Olden Retreiver]

What an everlasting pity that so many people will get their information from sources like this:

http://www.vancouversun.com/story.html?id=9593832&rel=831135

A single-lane tunnel? Any why are we supposed to care about the dimensions of the Canada Line TBM?

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by Olden Retreiver

What an everlasting pity that so many people will get their information from sources like this:

http://www.vancouversun.com/story.html?id=9593832&rel=831135

A single-lane tunnel? Any why are we supposed to care about the dimensions of the Canada Line TBM?

Write the columnist an email: [email protected]

I did.

Dear Kelly Sinoski,

I am writing you this brief note to share my opinion that the wording of your Vancouver Sun article of March 7th (Alice, the tunnelling machine, christened for Evergreen Line work) could leave some readers confused about the tunnel that is being built for the Evergreen Line.

In your article you wrote: “Alice’s single-lane tunnel is different from the one drilled by “Sweet Leilani”, the 86-metre-long boring machine involved in the twin, 5.3-metre Canada Line tunnels between South False Creek and Waterfront Station.” While there is a single tunnel being built for the Evergreen Line, it will hold two sets of tracks and that will allow trains to travel in both directions simultaneously. Your choice of words “single-lane tunnel” does not make this clear and it is muddied further by your inclusion of the dimensions of the Canada Line tunnel (5.3-metre diameter) without the context of the Evergreen Line's (9.84-metre diameter), which gives the implication that they will be the same.

I raise this issue because I believe that the public is generally poorly informed about public transit. Politicians play to the public’s frustration about taxes and salaries and the news media fans the controversy both intentionally, through columnist opinion pieces and coverage of anti-transit individuals and groups, and unintentionally through pieces like your own which leaves the public with an incomplete set of facts. I expect that you will offer a correction or clarification, and I will be disappointed if ‘single-lane tunnel’ becomes a talking point in the anti-transit camp leading up to the transit referendum.

[queetz@home]

Thanks again for the wonderful video and amazing photos, dpogue and madog222! They are quite spectacular and I'm glad much of the special guideways are in place.

Originally Posted by madog222

Now that we now see how the special guideways look like, it seems the differences in height between the outbound and inbound for sure doesn't really negatively affect the overall look of the system. I guess its just so hard to imagine from our vantage points how they look like, but there you have it! Looking really good!

Originally Posted by Olden Retreiver

What an everlasting pity that so many people will get their information from sources like this:

http://www.vancouversun.com/story.html?id=9593832&rel=831135

A single-lane tunnel? Any why are we supposed to care about the dimensions of the Canada Line TBM?

What exactly is the issue here?

While the link is dead, I looked at the Vancouver Sun article myself and saw nothing unusual. Maybe "single-lane" is not the correct word, but I think the numerous photos of the square tunnels underneath Barnet, and shown prominently behind the politicians, pretty much imply that there are two sets of tracks for the Evergreen Line. I doubt anybody in the public, whether they are for or against transit, will be thinking otherwise.

I think those who are truly interested in the Evergreen Line wouldn't be that confused about this wording. If they haven't participated in this thread already or asked questions in the Facebook Page, I'm sure they will if they want to find out more info rather than relying on a quickie article from the Vancouver Sun.

[dleung]

What happened to the basket-weave, and if they designed it out, why are guideways not in alignment?

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by dleung

What happened to the basket-weave, and if they designed it out, why are guideways not in alignment?

as seen in Google Streets,


https://www.google.com/maps/@49.248142,-...3m4!1e1!3m2!1sma_ikOo3-Ml6ZPMaCsbsfw!2e0

The northern-most beam for the tracks to Coquitlam was already beginning its rise in elevation to start the 'twist-over' of this track over the other Coquitlam track as they were both curving over the White Spot property on their way to the median on North Road.

This was built when the rest of Lougheed station was constructed, because the North Road extension to Coquitlam would be done 'in a few years'.


I was at the Cameron open house and explained to one of the people there that the two existing segments of this rising northern-most beam (with no tracks installed) could be removed and new track beam segments installed so they were level with the other tracks east of Lougheed. This was do-able since by then the twist-over design had already been dropped, but with the demise of twist-over the tracks between Lougheed and Burquitlam would need to have the trains 'wrong railing' on them as compared to the rest of the Skytrain system.

With all the tracks in the Lougheed station area level with each other, a new crossover could also be installed east of the station so that trains using the northern-most track would have access the main platform. By adding this new crossover at Lougheed, the tracks on North Road can be run as 'right railing' just like the rest of the Skytrain system.

Inbound trains (Coquitlam to VCC) can use the new crossover to get to the main platform for westbound traffic. Outbound trains (VCC to Coquitlam) would still use the eastbound main platform, and then use the 'coquitlam crossover' east of the station to get to the Coquitlam 'outbound' tracks.

By making all the track switching at Lougheed, there isn't a need for trains to cross-over at Burquitlam. The Burquitlam crossovers would still be needed so that single-tracking through the tunnel can be done in emergencies.

The blank stare after describing this to him indicated to me that either this was too confusing to figure out, or the design had already been locked-in, and the public open house was only being done so the general public could think they were influencing the planning.

So we were left with a Skytrain Hump-Stump of the planned-for and later deleted twist-over & curving tracks from Lougheed to North Road. Rather than fix the Hump-Stump, the new Evergreen extension added three new concrete track segments over the bus loop (the bents they are sitting on were part of the original Lougheed station construction) while continuing to elevate this track before both Evergreen tracks changed to steel beams to make the curve over White Spot and into the North Road median.

[queetz@home]

I think if the twist over went ahead, the guideway on the outbound would even be much higher than what it is right now, and you may also need to tear down White Spot (the model didn't show the restaurant there). EGRT also mentioned (posted a few pages back...I think GeeCee posted it) that the twist-over would have been quite expensive.

One thing that still bugs me is why do we even need to wrong rail. Why can't they just let the train on the existing Eastbound simply go to the inbound special guideway (the lower one)? It would be much simpler than the eastbound train heading to Coquitlam from Production to cross two sets of track just to get to the new platform...

[dpogue]

Took a bunch of photos of Lougheed station construction today.

The view of the new guideway from the end of the platform:


They've started mounting some sort of plates on the outside of the 3rd platform, to eventually hold up the wall:


They haven't reached the western half of the platform, but the holes are drilled for it:


Construction at the eastern gate house:


Construction at the western gate house:

[officedweller]

Thanks for the pics!

Originally Posted by queetz@home

One thing that still bugs me is why do we even need to wrong rail. Why can't they just let the train on the existing Eastbound simply go to the inbound special guideway (the lower one)? It would be much simpler than the eastbound train heading to Coquitlam from Production to cross two sets of track just to get to the new platform...

Under the currently planned routing, that's so that passengers arriving from Braid headed to Vancouver don't have to transfer by going downstairs and then back upstairs to the 3rd platform. They just walk across the existing centre platform.

Also, in the event that trains from Braid are through-routed to VCC Clark, all trains (whether from Burquitlamn or from Braid) arrive at the same platform headed to Vancouver (i.e. this may apply to the first trains in the morning being dispatched from the Edmonds yard to the Evergreen Line (although there is also a storage yard planned for the Evergreen Line).

That avoids the potential issue of having trains for the same destination arriving at 2 different platforms (and passengers being on the wrong platform or not knowing where to catch the next train) (that's one of the reasons TTC cancelled its interlining in 1960s - because they screwed up on the design of St. George Station and had downtown-bound trains arriving on both upper and lower platforms, forcing passengers to wait on the stairs to see which platform to go to for the next train).

If the north platform were assigned to "Vancouver" (to "right-rail" the trains), the trains from Briad wouldn't be able to stop there because you don't want a train reversing on the mainline - it's too disruptive (due to dwell time and time to clear the track space).

For reference forumers weigh-in on alternatives and their preferences wayyy back on page 152 (and thereafter) of this thread.

Also for reference - this is what is being implemented (posted May 17, 2013):

Originally Posted by officedweller

Thanks!

Platform 3 to Coquitlam is consistent with the original plans posted eons ago by SteelWheels.

...

The track map does not show the crossover east of Lougheed that would replace the "basketweave" that is required to get Coquitlam trains back to the righthand track - unless they run "wrong side" all the way to Burquitlam (but that would not make sense through a marked Cameron station).

JACKPOT!
This confirms the proposed train movements from SteelWheels' circa 1999 PMC Line brochure.
And it does look like the trains will run "wrong side" all the way to Burquitlam (red and green arrows).
You can also see that the Millennium Line terminates at Lougheed (blue and yellow arrows), with an easy cross platform transfer to Vancouver (but not from Vancouver).


Uploaded with ImageShack.us
http://www.partnershipsbc.ca/files-4/project-elrt-schedules/Schedule-4_Part-2_Article-1.pdf

[queetz@home]

Thanks for the pics dpogue! We rarely see the Lougheed Station itself being worked on, so its nice to see some progress at that front too.

Originally Posted by officedweller

Thanks for the pics!
Under the currnetly planned routing, that's so that passengers arriving from Briad headed to Vancouver don't have to transfer by going downstairs and then back upstairs to the 3rd platform. They just walk across the existing centre platform.

Wow! So essentially, the convolution was because of Braid passengers. While I would think if they are ultimately heading to Vancouver, unless its Renfrew, wouldn't it be better for them just to go the Expo Line route just like how they do today?

It would really be Braid passengers going to Burnaby that would constitute the majority. Its been a while since I've ridden the Millenium Line but from my living in Surrey / working at Creo days, majority of Braid passengers head towards New West, while majority of Millenium Line passengers heading to Burnaby get picked up at Lougheed Station.

That said, I'm assuming trains coming from Braid would use the switch seen just before the special inbound guideway below....

Originally Posted by dpogue

The view of the new guideway from the end of the platform:

...so that the train would end up at the existing Eastbound platform of the Lougheed station, at the right side of the photo?

If so, I can see how it could work but so much switching and turning and I guess that portion of the track will be so heavily used...

[officedweller]

I edited my post to show the diagram from the May 2013 RFP.

That said, I'm assuming trains coming from Braid would use the switch seen just before the special inbound guideway below....

...so that the train would end up at the existing Eastbound platform of the Lougheed station, at the right side of the photo?

Yup, that's correct.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
http://www.partnershipsbc.ca/files-4/project-elrt-schedules/Schedule-4_Part-2_Article-1.pdf

Using colours that match the RFP diagram above - here are the train movements:



TBM pic from facebook:


https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=...608086.1073741840.235919213121257&type=1

[GeeCee]

Watching the webcam this morning.. looks like they are lowering the first batch of tunnel wall segments into the TBM. We're getting closer!

[vivagt]

Originally Posted by GeeCee

Watching the webcam this morning.. looks like they are lowering the first batch of tunnel wall segments into the TVM. We're getting closer!

I'm assuming they will bore through the steel piles?

[Millennium2002]

Anytime someone brings up that switching diagram for Lougheed Station post Evergreen Line, I can only think to myself...

Why are we doing this cheap band-aid fix now when we know the switches will become the biggest bottleneck to the network in the years to come?

(end rant)