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Canada Line

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"RAV" redirects here. For other uses, see RAV (disambiguation).
File:RAV route.jpg
Map showing the planned route of the Canada Line.

The Canada Line, formerly known as the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver Line ("RAV Line"), is a new SkyTrain rapid transit line of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (TransLink) currently under construction. The line will be the third in Greater Vancouver, Canada and will be added to the existing SkyTrain rapid transit system but will not use linear induction motor technology. The line is planned to connect downtown Vancouver to the Vancouver International Airport and Richmond City Centre in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Governance of the project is through RAV Project Management (RAVCO), a subsidiary of TransLink.

Timeline

  • In 1995, BC Transit (a crown corporation responsible for public transit) expressed desire to create a special service of either bus rapid transit (BRT) or automated light rapid transit service connecting the cities of Richmond, Vancouver, and the Vancouver International Airport in one of the transit improvement plans.
    • Passages underground were reserved at the Concord Pacific development close to the Cambie bridge.
  • In 2003, ten companies or consortia submitted 'Expressions of Interest' in this project.
  • In December 2003, this was short listed down to three who were given a 'Request for Proposal'. These three consortia were:
  • On June 30, 2004, after twice voting to cancel the project, the TransLink Board approved the RAV line but maintained the right to cancel the project if none of the bids meet the approved budget of $1.35 billion.
  • On November 19, 2004, RAVCO recommended that the SNC-Lavalin/Serco (now known collectively as InTransitBC) proposal for a fully automated, grade-separated system be accepted. This 'Best and Final Offer' bid was $343 million over the approved budget. The project was, however, brought to within the funding allowance, through various cost trimming measures, including design changes, the contractor agreeing to lower their bid, and the province contributing another $65 million.
  • On December 1, 2004, the TransLink board gave final approval for the project.
  • On July 29 2005 the final contract to design, build and operate the RAV Line was signed between InTransitBC and Translink. Serco is no longer a partner to InTransitBC and 2 pension funds have been brought into the partnership.
  • In October 2005, the utilities relocation and roadwork was started.
  • On November 25, 2005, the design of the new trains was unveiled and Rotem was announced as the supplier of the trains.
  • The line is expected to be operational in November 2009, just in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver.

Project funding and management

RAVCO was set up by the agencies funding the transit line to oversee project design, procurement, construction and implementation. The budget comes from the following sources:

The British Columbia government initially committed $300 million but when the project went over-budget, they contributed an extra $65 million, and TransLink committed an extra $100 million by selling some of its assets.

These sums are all in 1993 dollars, except for the Government of Canada's contribution which will be paid out when constructed, and is estimated to be equivalent of $419 million 1993 dollars. In addition, the line will be built as a private-public partnership where the private contractors will contribute a significant portion of the construction and operating costs in return for a share in the operating revenue of the line.

Route description

The Canada Line (red) as part of the Greater Vancouver's rapid transit network in 2010.

The Vancouver section of the line is projected to run underground from Waterfront Station, with a cut-and-cover tunnel under Granville Street between Hastings and Dunsmuir and a bored tunnel under Granville and Davie Streets and False Creek to the 2nd Avenue station on Cambie Street, where it will run as a cut-and-cover tunnel with the two directions on separate decks as far as 63rd Avenue.

From there, the line will be elevated, crossing the North Arm of the Fraser River via a new bridge. At the proposed Bridgeport Station, the line would split, with the main line heading south on an elevated track along Number 3 Road to Richmond City Centre. A branch would connect Bridgeport Station to Vancouver International Airport, crossing the Middle Arm of the Fraser River via a bridge.

It is very likely that the Millennium Line will be extended west along Broadway to Cambie Street, where it will be possible to transfer to the Canada Line at Broadway/City Hall station. As indicated in material presented by the City of Vancouver at public meetings in early 2006, this station is being planned with such a future extension in mind.

Stations

Template:Future building Stations are proposed to be built in two stages: 16 stations will be built for the line's projected opening prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics, with up to three additional stations being added after the line opens. The proposed stations are listed below.

Vancouver section

File:DSCF1504.jpg
Construction taking place on the south shore of False Creek, at the site of Olympic Village Station. This is where the tunnel boring machine will begin its work.

Richmond section

Canada Line construction in Richmond, near No. 3 Road at Capstan Way.

Trains outbound to Richmond's commercial centre will stop at:

Airport branch

Trains outbound from Vancouver to Vancouver International Airport will split from the main line after Bridgeport Station, stopping at:

  • Templeton (likely to be located north of Grant McConachie Way, near Templeton Street)
  • Sea Island Centre (likely to be located on Grant McConachie Way, near the Air Canada service centre)
  • YVR-Airport (adjacent to the main terminal of Vancouver International Airport)

Vehicles

File:BannerFront.jpg
Artist's conception of the RAV Line Vehicle in 2009.

The trains (ROTEM LRV) will be designed and built by Rotem Company, a division of Hyundai Motor Group.

In total twenty fully-automated articulated trains are on order. Capacity of the new trains is estimated at 334 people, with a top speed of 80 km/h. They will have wider aisles than the ART fleet used by the current SkyTrain lines, and electronic ‘Next Destination’ signs on each train.

Controversies

Many people believe that it would be more cost-effective to run the line down the rail corridor that already exists along Arbutus Street and is currently zoned for transit use. The transit planners, however, said that the Arbutus corridor does not have the major concentration of transit destinations and origins that exist along the Cambie Street corridor and are necessary to provide the ridership required for this project to be successful. Also the Arbutus corridor is longer than the cambie corridor and would cause longer travel times. Some have suggested that the Arbutus corridor be saved for a future street car line.

The construction of street-level light rail trams would have been significantly cheaper than the proposed system, which requires grade separation (tunnels or elevated lines), but the operation cost and the City of Vancouver made it clear they would oppose any grade-level transit along the Cambie Street corridor. Also, the contributions by the federal government and the airport authority were contingent on service times that such a system would not have been able to achieve.

It is claimed that the portion of the cost of this line that TransLink is covering will be at the expense of improving bus service in Greater Vancouver. As the funding is likely to be provided by property taxes collected from throughout the Lower Mainland, this would mean that many communities that would be most hurt by the funding crunch (such as the North Shore, which is served primarily by buses and ageing SeaBuses which need to be replaced) could end up paying for a disproportionate share. (The western North Shore municipalities have the highest real estate prices in the Lower Mainland and therefore the highest property taxes).

Opponents of the RAV line's public-private partnership believe it was politically motivated and that it will cost more money because of the private involvement. The private involvement has, however, allowed for the costs to be known and largely fixed up-front.

Although the contract is supposed to ensure that no cost over-runs are passed on to TransLink and thus the public, there is a concern that it may somehow cost the public more in the future. The primary risk to TransLink is that it is required to guarantee 90% of projected ridership and to make up the shortfall in revenue if this is not achieved. The other potential risk would be if TransLink were to cause delays in the project by not meeting their responsibilities; they might be required to pay the costs for these delays and to ensure that the project is completed in time.

Another controversy arose after the contract was awarded. The submission to the environmental review committee proposed a cut-and-cover tunnel along Cambie Street, rather than the bored tunnel that had been previously discussed in public. Business owners along Cambie Street feel that digging up the street to build this tunnel would significantly affect traffic and force many smaller companies to close. The contractor maintains cut-and-cover will be cheaper, with less construction uncertainty, and that the stations will now be much closer to the surface and therefore more accessible. A smaller crane than the regular 90 tons to place the prefab components the fastest will probably be used.

Serco left the InTransitBC partnership with no public explanation as to why. Public pension fund management companies have been brought into the partnership. There are those who feel that the main purpose these companies was to guarantee the loans and shield SNC/Lavalin from the financial risks associated with this project. Therefore reducing the main advantage of a public Private Partnership (that is that private companies assume the financial risk of cost over-runs). The pension funds involved are British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC), who manage the BC Public Service Pension funds, and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (Caisse), who manage the Quebec Public Service Pension funds.

Name of the line

Initially called the "RAV Line", the line is now officially known as the "Canada Line".

Other names were also considered:

  • Olympic Line: Although not officially tied to the 2010 Winter Olympics, hosting the Olympics was a part of the rationale for building the line.
  • RAV Line: The Richmond-Airport-Vancouver line.

See also

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