Evergreen Extension opening today
Posted December 2, 2016 7:26 am.
Last Updated December 2, 2016 12:23 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) – It has been years in the making and now, after all the anticipation, construction and delays, the Evergreen Extension officially opens today.
Despite those very public delays, things should busy right from the first green signal says Peter Hall with the Urban Studies Program at Simon Fraser University.
“On the riders’ side, it has been talked about, it has been in the media, and that’s probably good in terms of rider behaviour,” says Hall.
The six-station extension runs from Lougheed Town Centre, through Port Moody before culminating at Lafarge Lake-Douglas Station in Port Coquitlam.
“I’m sure there is every reason to think that the ridership on the Evergreen Line is going to be good from day one,” says Hall, noting condo development along the 10.9-kilometre-line will likely also contribute to early success.
“Residential developers have been increasingly active in anticipating and building developments in anticipation of the line,” says Hall. “And that’s what actually provides the riders, so we’ve had construction in advance of the Evergreen.”
He notes that in contrast, both the Canada Line and Millennium Line had construction spring up the routes were completed.
The line has been plagued but a series of very public delays with the opening repeatedly pushed back.
At 79.6 kilometres in its entirety, the SkyTrain system is now the largest fully grade-separated metro rail system in Canada when it comes to track length, passing Toronto’s subway.
It also becomes the longest fully-automated rapid transit system in the world, surpassing the Dubai Metro.
