The private sector will operate the line for 35 years to generate a portion of its operating revenues. During the planning and public consultation phases, the line was referred to as the Richmond-Vancouver Airport Line, OR RAV for short. The name “Canada Line” was adopted in 2005 at the same time as construction began. [32] Some of the early documents also call it the “Olympic Line,”[33] in recognition of the 2010 Winter Olympics and continue to name the Expo and Millennium Lines after important events that took place at the time of construction. This name was adopted for the modern streetcar service, which operated along the downtown Historic Railway for two months and focused on the Olympics. [34] Opponents of the RAV Line`s public-private partnership (P3) believe it was politically motivated and will cost more because of private involvement. However, private participation made it possible to announce and determine construction costs in advance. After increasing his contribution to $435 million, the Minister of Transportation and Premier of British Columbia reiterated that this was the last contribution and that any cost overruns would be the responsibility of the proponent. [68] The Canadian Union of Public Employees refused to use a P3 for the design, construction and operation of the Canada Line.

The P3 procedure did not allow for the development of precise plans with public consultation, but limited the discussion to certain abstract parameters, while leaving the actual design details to the private partner. The five busiest stations have platforms with a length of 50 meters, while the remaining stations have platforms 40 meters long that can easily be extended to 50 meters. The YVR terminus and the Richmond-Brighouse terminus are single-track, while the Waterfront terminus is double-track. Double track is required to handle the 3-minute intervals between trains on the Waterfront Bridgeport section of the line. King Edward Station is the only station with a stacked configuration, and Broadway-City Hall Station is the only station with a double-height ceiling above the platforms. Vancouver City Centre Station is connected to the Pacific Centre and Vancouver Centre Mall and offers street-level access. All direct transfers to the Expo and Millennium lines must be made at Waterfront Station. There is no direct connection between Vancouver City Centre Station and Granville Station. However, it is possible to switch between these two stations via the Pacific Centre or the Vancouver Centre Mall. The construction of the station was designed as a two-step process. Sixteen original stations were opened at the same time as the line.

Three more stations are planned and can be built in the future. The stations are listed below. The Canada Line is a rapid transit line in British Columbia, Canada. The line is owned by TransLink and InTransitBC and is operated by ProTrans BC. Colored turquoise on road maps, it serves as an airport-train link between Vancouver, Richmond and Vancouver International Airport. The line consists of 16 stations and 19.2 kilometres (11.9 miles) of track; The main line runs from Vancouver to Richmond, while a 4-kilometre (2.5-mile) branch from Bridgeport Station connects to the airport. [2] It opened on August 17, 2009, prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics. [3] With the exception of overnight service, there is no longer a TransLink bus service to the airport when there are no trains. The Airport Station Exchange was closed on 7 September 2009, a few weeks after the line opened. Bus lines that used this loop were interrupted (as in the case of lines B 424 and 98), shortened (as in the case of the 100, renamed 100 Marpole Loop) or diverted to bridgeport station (as in the case of lines 620, C90 and C92). [23] The project was managed by Canada Line Rapid Transit Inc. (CLCO), formerly RAV Project Management Ltd.

(RAVCO), reflecting the original name “Richmond-Airport-Vancouver”). [9] The line was built by SNC-Lavalin, and InTransitBC will manage it for 35 years under contract with TransLink. Canada Line is operationally independent of the British Columbia Rapid Transit Company, which operates the Expo and Millennium SkyTrain lines,[10] but is considered part of the SkyTrain network. Like the other two SkyTrain lines in Metro Vancouver, it is also a light rapid transit that uses fully automated trains on separate level guides. [11] However, the trains are powered by conventional motors with electric pickup on the third rail and not by the linear induction system used on the other SkyTrain lines. In November 2004, bid costs were reduced by postponing the construction of a footbridge between Waterfront Station and the cruise terminal, removing Westminster Station, and moving Richmond Centre Station and the end of the line several hundred metres north. TransLink would continue to pay the cost of reinstalling the trolley wires along Cambie. To further reduce the best and final offer, RAVCO no longer required the promoter to provide 59 ATMs and 38 ticket validation counters, or for a police unit to operate on the RAV line. RAVCO also transferred responsibility for transporting trolley wire from SNC-Lavalin to TransLink. [59] Costs were also reduced as a result of decisions regarding the single-track sections of the Richmond and airport branches.

The Richmond branch was single-track from Ackroyd Road, largely because Richmond City Council printed to reduce the visual profile of the airline for aesthetic reasons. Prior to the construction of the line, TransLink predicted that it would need an average of 100,000 passengers per day to reach the “break-even point.” They also predicted that it would take about three years for capacity to reach this point and that TransLink would be responsible for the loss. However, Canada Line reached its planned passenger destination in late 2010, three years earlier. [69] Many transit services are connected to the Canada Line and are an important part of the service. With the opening of the line, most bus routes in Richmond and the now White Rock, Tsawwassen and Ladner routes doubled their frequency of service. Waterfront Station offers connections to the 95 B-Line, Expo Line, West Coast Express and SeaBus. Broadway-City Hall is connected to line 99 B-Line. The route continues on the North Arm Bridge over the north arm of the Fraser River, leaves Vancouver and reaches Richmond. Just after Bridgeport Station (11.1 km [6.9 miles]) at the flying junction, the line splits, with the Richmond Branch on elevated tracks along No. 3 Road South and ends at Richmond-Brighouse Station (14.5 km [9.0 miles]). The airport branch turns west and crosses the Middle Arm Bridge over the Fraser River middle arm, connects to Sea Island stations and ends at YVR-Airport Station (15.0 km [9.3 miles]). Parts of the airport branch are at ground level to accommodate a future elevated runway for aircraft above the road.

Both branches narrow to a single track as they approach their respective terminals. Just before Bridgeport Station is the OMC (Operations and Maintenance Center) facility, which houses trains when not in use. When the results of the bidding process suggested that an increased option in Richmond was the winning bid, Richmond City Council opposed the RAV line at the last minute and refused to give RAVCO the green light. While the recent express transit proposal does not include an express transit option along the Arbutus corridor along the abandoned CPR right-of-way, Vancouver City Council has reopened debate on the issue. Given that the rail right-of-way is currently used for public transit and space is available for transit lines, operating the line along the Arbutus corridor may have been more cost-effective than building tunnels under Cambie. However, planners and RAVCO countered that the Arbutus Corridor does not have the large concentration of transit destinations and origins that exist along the Cambie Street corridor, such as Vancouver City Hall, Vancouver General Hospital, Oakridge Centre and Langara College, that are necessary to ensure the ridership required for the success of this project. In addition, the Arbutus corridor is longer than the Cambie corridor and would result in longer travel times. The Cambie corridor also had greater potential for future growth in passenger numbers. [70] There have been several labour disputes related to wages and unionization between workers and contractors involved in the construction of the Canada Line.

To dig the last 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of the tunnel under the city center, a team of 36 Latin American workers from Costa Rica, Ecuador and Colombia was brought to Canada in April 2006. The employer, a joint partnership between SELI Canada and SNC (Pacific), commissioned workers to assemble the tunnel boring machine (TBM) and begin excavations. Workers` pay slips and testimonials showed that they received $1,000 a month in exchange for 65-hour work weeks (less than $4 cdn per hour). The Latin Americans, all with temporary work permits, joined the Construction and Skilled Workers Union Local 1611 and obtained union certification in a majority vote on June 23, 2006. .