Evergreen Line (Vancouver)
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This article or section contains information about a planned or expected public transportation infrastructure in Canada. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the infrastructure approaches, and more information becomes available. |
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The Evergreen Line is a planned rail transit line in Greater Vancouver, Canada. It will run from Lougheed Town Centre SkyTrain station in Burnaby through Port Moody to Coquitlam, and is planned to begin operations by the end of 2014. Current plans for the line call for the use of tunnels and elevated guideways, using the same automated metro technology as the existing SkyTrain rapid transit lines currently operated by TransLink in the Greater Vancouver area.
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[edit] History
Originally, a rapid-transit line going into Coquitlam was intended to be part of the new Millennium Line that was completed in 2002. As the costs of the project rose, however, the plans to build the extension to the new line into Coquitlam were halted, though not before a third incomplete platform on the westbound side of the Lougheed Town Centre station was built, with a spur of tracks for the extension.
After completion of the Millennium Line, TransLink has undertaken several studies regarding the fate of the Coquitlam line, considering a variety of possible options including a diesel multiple unit-based railway, a tram line, a new SkyTrain line, and an express bus service. In September 2002, the 97 B-Line express bus service was implemented. Eventually, in 2004, it was decided that a tram line was the best option, as it would better blend in with the neighbourhood, cost less, better fit the ridership patterns and not compete with customers from the existing West Coast Express.
Detailed design began in October 2006, when the TransLink Board approved the Evergreen Light Rail Transit (LRT) project definition phase. Despite a series of public consultations held during this period, in a community update issued May 2007, TransLink summarized the state of the project as follows: “Work continues to resolve several outstanding issues before the project proceeds. Until there is project certainty, the planned consultation process in support of detailed design, the planned submission of the Application for an Environmental Assessment Certificate and the anticipated start date of the project construction are delayed.” [1] This prompted local news agencies to interpret the statement as meaning TransLink had shelved the project. TransLink responded by issuing the following statement on July 19:
| “ | The Light Rail Transit system for the Northeast Sector is the number one rapid transit priority for TransLink,” TransLink Chair Malcolm Brodie said. “We have defined the project, and now we are waiting for funding to be confirmed from senior levels of government.[2] | ” |
On February 1, 2008, the provincial government and TransLink unveiled a revised business case for the Evergreen Line, preferring the Advanced Light Rapid Transit (ALRT) currently used by SkyTrain over the previously-accepted light-rail technology. However, the expected completion date has been pushed back from 2011 to 2014.[3]
In addition, on April 18, 2008, the Transport Ministry and Translink announced that of the two routes proposed in the business case, the North West route was selected after consultation with the various provinces.[4]
[edit] Route description
According to the updated business case for the Evergreen Line released in February 2008:
| “ | The ALRT alignment in the NW corridor would start from the existing Lougheed SkyTrain station and run as an elevated guideway along North Road to Clarke Road, transitioning into a tunnel north of Como Lake Avenue. Emerging at the bottom of the Clarke Road hill, the corridor would run elevated across the Barnet Highway, transitioning to at-grade adjacent to the Canadian Pacific railway (CP rail) line. The alignment would continue to the Ioco Road overpass where it would run eastward and then transition back to an elevated guideway northward along the Lougheed Highway to Pinetree Way. At this point, it would turn northward running in the vicinity of Pinetree Way to a terminus just north of Guildford Way. | ” |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Community Update. TransLink (2007-05).
- ^ Evergreen Line is still TransLink's priority. TransLink (2007-07-19).
- ^ Evergreen Line Business Case Update. BC Ministry of Transportation (2008-02).
- ^ Northwest route decided for Evergreen Line. Translink (2008-02).
