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Overview | |||
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Owner | TransLink | ||
Locale | Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | ||
Transit type | Rapid transit | ||
Number of lines | 3 | ||
Number of stations | 53 (List of stations) | ||
Daily ridership | 390,600 (Q4 2014) | ||
Annual ridership | 137.4 million (2016) | ||
Website | TransLink | ||
Operation | |||
Began operation | December 11, 1985 | ||
Operator(s) | British Columbia Rapid Transit Company (Expo and Millennium Line) Protrans BC (Canada Line) |
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Character | Underground, at-grade, and elevated | ||
Number of vehicles | 298 | ||
Train length | 2-, 4- or 6-car trainsets | ||
Headway | 2.7–20 minutes | ||
Technical | |||
System length | 79.5 km (49.4 mi) | ||
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||
Electrification |
Third rail (650 V DC for Expo and Millennium Lines) (Linear induction) (750 V DC for Canada Line) (Electric motor) |
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Average speed | 45 km/h (28 mph) | ||
Top speed | 80 km/h (50 mph) (Expo and Millennium Lines) 80 km/h (50 mph) (Canada Line) |
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SkyTrain is the metropolitan rail system of Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. SkyTrain has 79.5 km (49.4 mi) of track and uses fully automated trains on grade-separated tracks running on underground and elevated guideways, allowing SkyTrain to hold consistently high on-time reliability. The name, SkyTrain, was coined for the system during Expo 86 because the first line (Expo) principally runs on elevated guideway outside of Downtown Vancouver, providing panoramic views of the metropolitan area. SkyTrain has the world's longest cable-supported transit-only bridge, known as SkyBridge, to cross the Fraser River in the suburbs. With the opening of the Evergreen Extension on December 2, 2016, SkyTrain is now the longest rapid transit system in Canada and the longest fully automated driverless system in the world.
SkyTrain currently has 53 stations serving three lines: Expo, Millennium, and Canada Line. The Expo Line and Millennium Line are operated by British Columbia Rapid Transit Company under contract from TransLink (originally BC Transit), a regional government transportation agency. The Canada Line is operated on the same principles by the private concessionaire ProTrans BC under contract to TransLink, and is an integrated part of the regional transport system. SkyTrain uses a fare system shared with other local transit services, and is policed by the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Police Service. SkyTrain Attendants (STAs) provide first aid, directions and customer service, inspect fares, monitor train faults, and operate the trains manually if necessary.