Bucky Hermit Kingdom: Canada Line goodness

After many years of political red tape, the long-awaited rapid transit rail line between Richmond, Vancouver International Airport and Vancouver will become a reality in the form of the Canada Line. It was originally announced that it will open on Labor Day, but by the sounds of it, it might open as early as the BC Day long weekend, which is at the start of August.

That means for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, visitors coming from the airport will be able to avoid having to cram into a small taxi cab and use a train line instead.

While I love the fact that the line is finally here, I do have some nitpicks with its construction and planning. The station and train lengths are a mere 40 meters and there is no room for further expansion. This is an alarming lack of long-term thinking by the private company that had the construction contract for the line.

Also, all Richmond, Delta, South Surrey and White Rock buses that normally run as express buses to downtown Vancouver will instead terminate at Bridgeport Station of the line. As a regular passenger on the Richmond routes to downtown Vancouver, I can say with certainty that despite the line's and the local buses' increased capacities, there will be a serious overcrowding issue. My peak-hour bus from Vancouver is already bursting at the seams at 15-minute frequencies. The local route (which will be the only option after the line opens) will run at 12-minute frequencies. Now, if a 15-minute frequency can't handle the Vancouver-Richmond passengers alone, how do you expect a 3-minute increase to make any difference when you add local Richmond riders to the scenario as well? It will not work.

Above: A Canada Line train during practice runs, as seen from No. 3 Road at Alderbridge Way in Richmond.

Also, for some areas in Richmond's western parts, such as my house, the commute time will actually increase as a result of the new routings. Besides those living within a kilometer of No. 3 Road (where the line runs), there is no benefit. There will be no other alternatives for Vancouver-bound commuters.

For the Delta, South Surrey and White Rock routes, the extra transfer will end up with little to no savings in commuting time. While the impact is minimal for them, it seems a bit unnecessary. However, I'm hesitant to say anything beyond that because I don't take those buses during peak hours.

If the line opens early (as planned), the route changes won't be in effect until the next schedule rotation, which will be in September. By then, I'll be far away from here and will avoid the circus that will be Vancouver public transit commuting. Hopefully all the problems will be rectified by the time I return. But knowing the local transportation agency around here, I wouldn't be surprised if they remain clueless.

Anyways, here are some related videos, pics and links:

My photo gallery of the Canada Line.

Videos courtesy of the Buzzer Blog:

Approaching Vancouver City Centre Station: