Most of the fund will be used to replace ageing bus vehicles, including one-to-one replacements of 57 ageing conventional diesel buses with electric-battery buses, with the federal fund covering $86.09 million of the total cost of $88.74 million.
Another $15.9 million will go to 64 replacement community shuttle mini-buses, $6.54 million will go towards 44 replacement HandyDART vehicles, and just under $2 million to over two dozen service support vehicles.
Confirmation of this funding will allow TransLink to begin the process of ordering these bus vehicles by early this year to ensure a delivery timeline spanning 2021 to 2023.
To support the significant influx of electric-battery buses, TransLink will also receive $27.75 million towards the $30.6 million costs of upgrading the Port Coquitlam Transit Centre bus depot with equipment and infrastructure that can handle the maintenance and charging needs of these electrified models.
For their final group project in December 2020, published on the university’s blogs website, the UBC Geography students dived into the topographical and terrain feasibility, with one route option, as envisioned by MVX, following the Sea to Sky Highway. This option could take advantage of the existing railway right-of-way, even though it “may not be able to accommodate the highest speeds from West Vancouver to Squamish due to the winding nature of the rail.”
Following the highway corridor could potentially carry a lower construction cost and shorter construction timeline as “less modifications would have to be made to the landscape in order to make the route suitable for a higher speed commuter train.” The segment of the route between Horseshoe Bay and Squamish would carry slower speeds, while overall travel times could be reduced with higher speeds in the segments from Squamish to Whistler and Chilliwack to Vancouver.
Here are 35 factoids on the history of SkyTrain and how the system works:
1. The name “Expo Line”
The Expo Line, as we currently know it, was previously simply known as just “SkyTrain.” The original train system only acquired the name of Expo Line in 2002, when the Millennium Line opened and necessitated a differentiating name.
2. Flight attendant uniforms
Fancy Schmancy: SkyTrain attendants initially wore uniforms that resembled the uniforms of flight attendants. But this did not last long, as it only coincided with the World’s Fair.
SkyTrain attendant uniforms in 1986. (VinceMeatPie / Reddit)
3. Carpets seemed like a great idea at first