Canada Line | Completed

[twoNeurons]

I'm wondering about the whole transborder area YVR has. If passengers are transferring from international inbound to the US outbound, their baggage gets checked through as if it were US inbound and they don't leave a special security area to catch the US outbound flight.

It's a pretty important aspect of YVR, so if they were separated, I wonder how that would work. I'd imagine the new terminal would be connected still, but that would discount using skytrain to shuttle passengers.

Then again, I don't think the distances involved would be a deal-breaker, especially assuming moving walkways would be installed. (Inbound US transferring to domestic terminal starts to become quite a walk)

[SpongeG]

they could ad an underground train? all transit would be in ticketed passenger areas only

[twoNeurons]

Check out this Vancouver Sun Article Link

Despite problems, $2-billion Canada Line is on schedule (4:53 pm)
Linda Nguyen, Vancouver Sun
Published: Monday, July 09, 2007

Two years after Canada Line construction began and despite unforeseen problems, the project is on schedule, says an official of the company building the rapid transit line.



"We just completed half of the project so far and I might say we're just a little ahead of schedule," said Steve Crombie, spokesman for InTransitBC.

"Things so far are going extremely well, partly attributed to the crews and the way the line was designed. Everyone's been pretty efficient in doing the work."

The projected $2.05-billion Canada Line, also known as the Richmond-Vancouver-Airport (RAV) Line, will run underground through downtown Vancouver, under False Creek and Cambie Street to 63rd Avenue, and then above ground on an elevated guideway to Richmond and the airport.

The line is scheduled to open on Nov. 30, 2009 and is supposed to help ease heavy traffic during the 2010 Olympic Games. Crombie said mostly good weather and the threat of financial penalty if the rapid transit system is not completed on time have helped in the speedy building process.

"It's in our interest to get this done. If we get the line in service early, it's going to be a financial benefit for us," he said.

About 1,500 people work on the Canada Line daily. The first of two parallel tunnels through downtown Vancouver, has been completed despite the surprise of finding hard rock and coal that had to be blasted. Even the late arrival of a piece of machinery from the United States, which delayed the start date for a few weeks, hasn't really had a major effect on the over-all project, Crombie said.

The tunnel-boring machine began its second pass under False Creek and downtown as scheduled on June 15. Further south, cut-and-cover tunnel construction is complete in some sections of Cambie Street between 29th and 33rd avenues and the street has been repaved.

Sections of Cambie between 29th and King Edward Avenue, and 63rd to 57th Avenue, are expected to be done by the end of August. None of these sections of road have been reopened to traffic, Crombie said, noting that decision rests with Vancouver city hall.

Motorists were expected to be allowed to turn onto and off Cambie Street from 12th, 17th and 18th avenues again this week.

Crews have started excavating at most station sites including Yaletown, Broadway, King Edward, Richmond-Brighouse, and Aberdeen.

Crombie said one of the biggest challenges was making sure construction of the above-ground guideway columns holding up the track in Richmond and to the airport could withstand natural disasters.

"We wanted to make sure everything is really secure because we're building on an island," he said. Prior to construction, architects settled on a design to root the guideways in holes resembling the shape of a wine bottle. That hole was then filled with concrete and dirt.

"This design creates stability so these guideways can't go anywhere," he said. "So if we're in an earthquake zone, the guideways can move but can't move far because it's in a stable environment."

The guideway columns are expected to be finished by December. The guide where the tracks are being laid is projected to be done by April 2008.

Crombie said track work is being done as the crews are going along, and the stations are all expected to be finished by April 2009, with the Richmond-Brighouse station being the last. He said each station has an individual theme.

"They are going to be a bit smaller than the SkyTrain stations. The platforms will be 40 metres long, so a bit shorter [than SkyTrain] but the stations will be very transparent with lots of glass," he said.

Each station will have an open concept design with few places where people can lurk or hide. But for Crombie, the most exciting section of the Canada Line will be the North Arm Bridge across the Fraser River linking Vancouver to Richmond. The cable-stayed bridge is the first in North America with its particular design and will have dedicated pedestrian and bicycle lanes.

"The towers of the bridge are lower and farther apart because we were right in the glide path of airplanes," Crombie said. "We also didn't want to restrict the commercial waterways of the Fraser underneath. The bridge is really coming along now."

It has yet to be named. "Maybe we'll hold a contest next," Crombie said.

Sounds like a good showcase for P3 projects.

[twoNeurons]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

they could add an underground train? all transit would be in ticketed passenger areas only

Could do, and they'd likely do that if the terminal isn't east of the current international. But I'd imagine if it's east of the terminal, they wouldn't need anything of that scale and could make do with pedestrian tunnels.

[mr.x]

"a bit shorter" is an understatement. i'm predicting a public outcry when it's completed.

[officedweller]

Large contracts typically have liquidated damages (penalties) if the contractor fails to meet the project milestones on time, and may also have bonuses if the contractor meets those milestones significantly ahead of schedule.

[jlousa]

While I would've liked to see all the stations at 50m, I think they will manage just fine with the 40m platforms and high frequency. Depending on how deep each platform is you could fit alot of people on them. Personally I'd prefer a 40M by 3M platform over a 50M by 2M one. Mind you I'm speaking w/o knowing the acutal depths.

[vanman]

Anyone know how to email pictures from a RAZR phone. It seems it is more complicated than I would have imagined.

[SpongeG]

I really don't think the platforms will ever be at full capacity 24/7

its not like 100's of people are going to be showing up every 5 minutes to get on board

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by jlousa

While I would've liked to see all the stations at 50m, I think they will manage just fine with the 40m platforms and high frequency. Depending on how deep each platform is you could fit alot of people on them. Personally I'd prefer a 40M by 3M platform over a 50M by 2M one. Mind you I'm speaking w/o knowing the acutal depths.

60 metre platforms should've been the absolute minimum, capable of handling 3-twenty metre car trains and about 500 people in each train. Of course, 80 metres would be ideal.

Equivalents:
- 4-car Mark II train: 520 people
- 4-car Mark I train: 320 people
- Canada Line 2-car train: 334 people
- Canada Line 2-car train plus 10-metre car: ~400 people

The frequency they have planned for 2009 is quite low. 3-4 minutes in Vancouver and 6-8 minutes in Richmond/YVR during the day and peak hours. It's much lower early morning and at night.


Regarding platform widths, you have to remember it depends on whether they are side platforms or centre-island platforms. Waterfront, City Centre, and Yaletown Stations are centre-island platforms....according to diagrams, appears to be 9-10 metres in width. Olympic Village is also another centre, 6-7 metres in width.

Broadway is a side platform, 5-6 metres on each side. King Edward, 41st, 49th are 2-3 metres, side platforms. Same thing with the elevated platforms.

[SpongeG]

you are honestly expecting something like the king ed station to be that busy all the time?

i think you have more faith in transit perhaps

everytime i have caught skytrain its been pretty dead at most stations

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

you are honestly expecting something like the king ed station to be that busy all the time?

i think you have more faith in transit perhaps

everytime i have caught skytrain its been pretty dead at most stations

I'm not that worried about station crowding at stations like King Edward or 49th Avenue or middle of nowhere Templeton, i'm worried about how crowded the trains might get. Think about it, a 334 passenger two-car Canada Line train is about the same as a 320 passenger four-car Mark I train. With an additional 10-metre car train, it can only handle 400 passengers.....this line wasn't built for the long-term, it was built for the short-term.

And we all know how SkyTrain trains are often filled in Surrey or Waterfront or Broadway....imagine trying to get onto the Canada Line with packed incoming trains from Richmond, Broadway, and Waterfront......though i guess for every filled train from Richmond, there's also an empty train heading towards Vancouver from YVR.

[SpongeG]

meh i have yet to ride in an uncrowded system - well except for maybe torontos - they are so big its are to feel crowded on it

[twoNeurons]

You know it's funny. I remember when skytrain was called Glen Clark's toy train... due to it being so short and dinky.

Interesting that the Canada Line platforms are shorter.

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by tintinium

You know it's funny. I remember when skytrain was called Glen Clark's toy train... due to it being so short and dinky.

Interesting that the Canada Line platforms are shorter.

Canada Line: Gordon Campbell's train with severe erectile disfunction

[deasine]

HAHAHA LOL. Hey but we can't point to the provincal government too much about short trains and stuff.

Actually, I would hold the federal gov't responsible. They should have provided us more funding: Ontario even gets more transit funding =( I am sure about this, if Toronto had Olympics, then they would have alloted more money for them than us. Yes I know Summer Olympics got more stuff, but you get the gist of what I'm trying to say.

SkyTrain today was horrible already. Just a train from Waterfront Station was packed. When we got to burrard, wow, we can see all that people clumped on the platform. Only a few of them managed to get on the train. At Granville Station, even worst. I can't see how troubled the Canada Line network would be. Even the B-Line is completely full after Burrard. Sigh...

[officedweller]

But even in Toronto, a packed train is often closely followed by a near empty train.

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by officedweller

But even in Toronto, a packed train is often closely followed by a near empty train.

yea, i noticed that in HK too.

[agrant]

Originally Posted by deasine

SkyTrain today was horrible already. Just a train from Waterfront Station was packed. When we got to burrard, wow, we can see all that people clumped on the platform. Only a few of them managed to get on the train. At Granville Station, even worst. I can't see how troubled the Canada Line network would be. Even the B-Line is completely full after Burrard. Sigh...

Only another two years till Skytrain gets some more cars and ? years for a ? Millenium Line extension?

[mezzanine]

^^ Does your RAZR have bluetooth? You could try to send them to your desktop and email them from there...

I'm not worried about short platform lengths. Don't forget, a lot of criticism about the canada line said that this would be an underutilized line and a big white elephant. Defining long platform lenghts would have jacked up the price significantly (ie, not being able to use cut/cover and needing more tunnelling). Don't forget, this thing was voted down *twice* before it was pushed thru. I'd rather it built, and to have it become a victim of its own success.

I suspect that inherent flexibility within the P3 is making sure that costs stay on track, rightly or wrongly (i.e, switching to less tunnelling and more cut/cover, use of foreign workers, etc.). I think a lot of jursidictions are watching this to see how a P3 will work in canada, IMO.