I've been lucky enough to live in two wonderful cities, the first 32 years in Melbourne, Australia, and the last 47 in Vancouver. Both have excellent transit systems. If you've done the math you'll have figured out that I'm an old guy now, and there is one major deficiency in the Vancouver system: NO TOILETS! Not just old guys, but everybody has to go sometime. I've travelled on many city systems in several countries, and I think Vancouver is the only one lacking this very basic need. Love your videos, by the way.
Seattle's system also doesn't have toilets. Both SEA and VAN have a larger-than-usual share of heroin users and vagrants, and at least in Seattle the fear was of those people leaving needles, sleeping in or creating a security issue frightening or endangering riders. It's frustrating for transit riders who need to relieve themselves, but after Seattle's brief experiment with public toilets led to those needles, vagrancy and other issues, there's not a lot of political will to add toilets in stations at the perceived risk of safety.
You can get away with it by creating more commercial spaces for lease in the station surrounding the entrance to the public toilets. And then a security guard or transit police booth.
@@Liggie55821 Yeah, it was a big deal that the new Northgate station in Seattle had a toilet. I was all for it, people on the light rail gotta go sometimes right? Within two months I walked in and the toilet was filled to the brim in poop and the toilet seat had *burn marks*. So it doesn’t surprise me that Vancouver has no restrooms given the homelessness problem is similar there
@@dminnovatores Agreed. Love his channel, though he does focus more on eastern Canada than western. Even though much is similar, there are still quite a few differences.
As a Seattle native - I love Vancouver. It’s like a denser, better planned, more livable, more scenic version of Seattle. Even though Seattle is much larger in population than Vancouver and has relatively good mass transit compared to other US cities - we still have a long way to go to catch up.
This is a really nice showcase for the SkyTrain (/LandTrain) system. It also portrays Vancouver as a modern post-Millennium city with plenty of development aimed around transit hubs. If Melbourne proceeds with the Suburban Rail Loop, I hope they strongly consider this as a possible technology and method. It doesn't even have to be underground most of the way.
Three years on, Melbourne has not gone the way of your suggestion. They have shocked everyone by saying it'll take 12 years to built 6 stations and the connecting tracks, though!
@@ElusiveTy yeah I'm a nobody so I didn't think they'd take my suggestion of an elevated rail seriously. And the full plan isn't supposed to be completed by 2050 anyway. Think the first phase isn't ready till sometime after 2035.
You know, I think you should do all of your "all station" videos like this, especially if you're going to cover more above ground networks such as the C-Train or Portland LRT. There is like a relaxing energy that is emanated when you voice over with a bunch of interesting details about where the train is located, rather than a 20 minute long montage of you quickly glancing at every station. Even in underground networks I think a lot can be done with this style.
Yes, and in underground videos, there could be some cutaways to show the area that's 'above' the tunnel, what kind of clusters each route is serving. That was the most interesting part of this video, how you could see the density increase and then fall away again.
I'd never thought I'd be interested in transit, but after discovering your channel, that all changed. I live on Vancouver Island and riding the SkyTrain in Vancouver is such an excited treat everytime I visit Vancouver. The entire system is so well integrated and modernized, Montreal and Toronto pales in comparison. Keep up the amazing work!
Montréal pale in comparison??? Montreal is real deal. 100% of its subway is underground and each station has its unique design architecture. I travel in many countries and Montreal subway is easily on the top.
@@californiabob3231 Montreal is building 50 km of elevated track with 26 stations, called REM (Réseau express métropolitain - Metropolitain Express Network) in one big suburban project, that will interface with the existing underground métro, and Trudeau International Airport. The design is modelled on Vancouver's Canada Line (the builder in Montreal is/has been involved with Vancouver's Canada Line, a pilot project for them, kinda sorta). As it's mainly suburban, it shares part of the responsibilities of a full commuter line (as the SkyTrain does in Vancouver), but the new 50 km of elevated track is being built for only ~190,000 boardings/weekday ***obviously doesn't include the underground's passengers*** For comparison, in Vancouver that's about as many as, or maybe a few boardings/weekday more, than the 15 km Canada Line alone. The 1st section was built for Expo 86, and has been expanded fairly regularly. We generally like our system here in Vancouver, though not many admit it... it's a Vancouver thing; at about 3 million metro however, we're still a fair number of residents fewer than Greater Montreal at about 4 to 4.5 million, and Montreal's underground has 30 years or so on us (started before Expo 67). With their new REM system, it will undoubtedly vie for 1st prize in Canada with Toronto. Both those cities have also been around literally centuries longer than Vancouver, as well. So for a medium size metro region, with a fairly new to brand new, very well maintained system, Vancouver does transit very well. We hold our own. Montreal and Toronto are really in a different class, though. SkyTrain will add at least 26 km (maybe as many as 36 km) of shovel-ready, new track to the easternmost and westernmost corners of the region, forecast to be in operation by 2025. Other than the big eastern cities in North America that were well built-out before car culture, Vancouver's SkyTrain system does better in almost every metric than anywhere else on the continent, with Seattle still a fairly distant second place (but they're getting there). Portland and SF/Bay can duke it out for #3 and #4, lol.
@@RMTransit Yes, absolutely. As a resident of Seattle, I'm jealous of what Vancouver has done, and is doing. They have a transit *network* that Seattle will never match, while the Broadway subway will simply push Vancouver further ahead.
I love how we transformed our major transit system into somewhat of a rollercoaster ride with tons of twists, turns, and amazing views. Truly a pleasure to ride even if it's just for fun.
Wow, it was so extensive. Thank you for showing us how beautiful Vancouver is and how amazing the skytrain network is. I loved how practical & simple yet futuristic the train stations looked complementing those high rise buildings. I'm planning on travelling to BC soon, can't wait to take the skytrain.
This video was great. Brings memories of my trip to Vancouver. It’s a beautiful city and the metro system is a very convenient way to get around. I cant wait to go back.
i live in vancouver and i love the skytrain! people complain about it all the time (naturally, i don't blame them) but the system is constantly trying to improve and do better for its riders.
Loved this, Reece! I took the Skytrain in about 1994 when I was 6, with my Grandfather, visiting from the UK... I don't remember much about Vancouver from that age, but I thought the Skytrain was the coolest thing with all its elevated tracks. Really nice portrait of the system, it's a very chilled out exploration of the whole thing, very nice to watch early in the morning with my breakfast.
Thanks 😊 ... Your transit videos of different cities are terrific! I live in Vancouver and I learned a lot about our own system as compared to Toronto’s ... so it’s interesting.
About the best commentary around. Goes into costs, etc; narrated by someone who knows a lot about the system. A real pleasure for the eyes and ears to someone like myself, who tends t get bored by countless rail and transit rail videaos, being mr of the same, As a Westerner, I am familiar with the Vancouver transit system that I have ridden countless times while visiting the city, A solid 10 ouf of 10, for a well-produced video.
Not really the word that comes to mind when I see the system here in Vancouver. Want to see a futuristic line, check the Yurikamome in Tokyo. The stock used here in Vancouver is largely from the eighties.
Vancouver is a city where you can truly get by without a car. unless you need to go the the valley, Abbotsford and beyond, you can take transit there and I think you can get their via transit soon. Due to medical issues, I can't drive anymore. The other week, I took transit from Vancouver side of Vancouver Airport all the way to Port Moody. I never thought I could do that. That is a distance of more than 34.3 KM. I only need to take a bus, transfer at two Skytrain station and I'm there. I can get there taking not much more time that driving.
Great video Reece, not only did you ride to all stations, but you also gave narration of the development along the rail lines, the rolling stock information, the connection between interchanges and even to the platform intrusion system. In my home city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, one of the rapid transit lines in KL shares the same rolling stock that the Vancouver SkyTrain uses; the Innovia ART 200 and Innovia Metro 300 rolling stocks are running on the 46.4KM Kelana Jaya transit line.
Dual citizen Brit Canadian here. Currently in the Uk but other home is indeed Vancouver! I only just came across your video now and about to watch with great interest. Really very interesting to see you've made this, as I watch Geoff Marshall's videos of the London Underground extensively. This is great to see such a video of Vancouver now too! Hope all is well in the Lower Mainland. I've been watching CTV News Vancouver online and I know all about the snow you've been having there lately. Btw home for me in BC is the top of Burnaby Mtn. 🇨🇦🇬🇧
I love and miss the skytrain. Did a similar ride in December. VCC-Clark was annoying for the double fare for me as well. Only didn't ride the Canada Line that day/night. Still carry my compass mini with me even though I'm in Florida lol.
@@RMTransit Yeah it definitely is. I had taken the Canada line several times including after arriving in YVR. But I realized my trip was ending soon and I hadn't taken any of the Millenium line. I was staying by Commercial-Broadway and had taken the Expo line a bunch of times especially to Surrey Central(time in my childhood was be spent there and at Bear Creek Park). Did this so I could say I took the skytrain to every stop on the system even if not all together lol.
Mate. I’m from Vancouver but have been living here in Sydney Australia for the last five years. Your video took me on a beautiful trip down memory lane and also taught me things I didn’t even know about the line / my city. 10/10 content bro thank you for making this ❤
The trains run like Docklands Light Rail in London. Except that DLR has a member of staff on the train, to manually drive it if needed; they are also expected to check tickets when possible. You should contact Geoff Marshall to do a competition between DLR and Sky train.
Thanks for the tour. It's an amazing system. A few observations: No lines in freeway medians because, except for a short section on the border with suburban Burnaby, Vancouver has no freeways cutting through the city, the result of “freeway revolts”. Commercial-Broadway has so little density, presently, due to neighborhood resistance, although that may change. That bike/ped pathway under the trackway on the North Arm Bridge is terrific! News to me: the laser detectors at stations. I wonder how widely they're used in other systems. Airport stations, and the difference between Vancouver and Seattle's (built around the same time): Seattle's Link light rail stop is at the end of a massive parking garage, which one must walk through to get to the terminals. It's windy and cold during the long winters. Apparently it's a combination of Sound Transit not wanting to add a few minutes to the line as it is extended beyond the airport station, and the airport authority insisting that there was little room between the garage and the terminal to build it. The result is a sub-par location. Finally: I couldn't disagree with you more about the Canada Line. The “low-cost miracle” was built on the cheap, not for the ages. 2-car platforms? In a major metro? During normal times it's packed, almost NY subway style, even with those frequent headways. Of course, the provincial politicians who approved this design will never ride the Canada Line. At least the cars are wider than the ones that run on the other lines. And, I love the front and rear windows!
Vancouver's kinda like the iPhone of cities. It doesn't have all the features that other cities might have, but what it does have is well-done and optimized to be more user-friendly than how other cities might implement the same things. Takes a little longer to get done, and you can spend years wishing for something to be added/changed that should have been done years ago... but once it finally happens, it's well-thought out and integrated in a way that just feels nicer than other cities. Also... you pay a premium price for it.
It was fun coming back to this video after my first visit to Vancouver last month. I only got to explore along the Canada Line so I'm looking forward to explore the suburbs along the Millennium and Expo Lines during future visits. I got to see some of the cut and cover construction at Broadway - City Hall for the new Broadway line which was a treat!
man you're so cool... I moved to vancouver in march and first thing i could do after getting out of quarantine was getting my compass card, and the transit around here has been a beautiful experience for a newcomer like me... since then, i've read and watched hours and pages of information on metrovan's transit, to the point i can recite from memory every extension and modification the trains have had since expo 86... the buses are next! hearing you talk so much great stuff about the system you know best is really a treat, because someone who's very familiar with growing up with it can give it a sense of life, familiarity... "fear of being trapped on a tail track at VCC-Clark" that's something only a resident would feel, i guess... I would like to talk with you and share whatever knowledge we might have about this marvelous thing on rails... but that might be a long shot, anyways, great video!
I had a wonderful time taking skytrain from Surrey over to the city center on the expo line, I got that center seat luckily too, wish more systems had that kind of stuff for tourists
You never need to worry about ending up on a train that goes into a tail track out of service or back to the yard on the expo. since when that does happen when the train arrives at the terminus station attendance will board to ensure the train is empty before it goes to the yard. And you would hear a this train is being taken out of service announcement like you saw on the Canada line pre covid some people would hop on a train that is going in to a tail track to turn around in order to get a seat if the station is busy
Just watched this after you shouted it out in your recent DLR video. This video is amazing! You should definitely do more stuff like this, the commentary and explanations make this so much more engaging than a simple cab-ride videos (a genre I already enjoy)
The Canada line train you were on at broadway was actually not one of the new ones. You can tell the new apart by the black trim around the outside of the windows. You were on train 117/217, which was a part of the original 20 train sets. Trains numbered 121/221-132/232 are the newer trains.
As someone who was born in Toronto, when I moved to BC I didn't like how the skytrain is always in a different fair-paid-zone than the bus transfers. In Toronto this is almost never the case. Regardless, the skytrain is revolutionary and is a joy to ride.
Great video. The narration makes these rides far more interesting. On your point about the Skytrain having significant at grade and underground portions, I agree this makes it much easier to build more rail faster. Ottawa has a similar approach, as does the REM in Montreal. A video breaking down the % of elevated/at-grade/underground, for the system and by line, would be very much appreciated.
Finally Happy to be a resident of Vancouver. PNW is beautiful. Love the Skytrain. Nicely built can't wait for the new projects. Thats Coquitlam. North Road in the start thats where i stay too.
Brilliant video- informative, loud and clear narration, music calming and not drowning out the narration, and great camera footage. It has also got to be said that compared to other of the big major cities in Canada, Vancouver does have some of the best scenery, greenery, and people in Metro Vancouver should take pride in that and the stellar quality of their transportation systems.
The first time I rode the expo line from end to end was when I visited my dad during the summer of 1986. Some of those Burnaby stations still have that old style that we thought was so futuristic back then lol.
Beautiful! Wish one day I could visit Vancouver, but it's so far away. Love automated trains, but don't like platform doors! Thank God you guys didn't put them in. Been interested in Vancouver since listening to Double Exposure on RCI via shortwave in the 90s. 😉
On the Expo and Millenium Lines you will probably never have platform doors since there are 3 types of different rolling stock with doors stopping at different locations on the platforms accordingly. Unless they install some fancy "smart" platform door system... it would sound expensive.
So all of Vancouver sky train network systems have side platforms? I stand corrected, see a few centre platforms on the Canada Line. Glad that their system is fully automated, sad that Toronto doesn't think ahead in our transit system. Our city politicians fight for control over it too much and car-centric...
It'll be both a sad day and great relief when the old, rickety 1980's Mark 1's are finally retired from service. During these summer, those things are sweat lodges on wheels. I hope at least one is preserved as a heritage piece, like some of the old busses.
I hope you do another one in 2029 one after the opening of new extensions and the new housing zoning by BC along transit . it would be cool to compare.
great video great subway i hope to someday visit vancouver and do the same you did was there any extra charge to ride all the trains since they charge by distance you know that here in toronto you can ride the entire subway with one fare so wanted to know if i can do the same in vancouver also to transfer from different lines do you have to go to another level or do you stay in the same platform and look for the right train???
I never noticed that the millennium line stations have different designs as I pass through them very early in the morning. Been to all but two of the stations myself.
thanks for the great video I grew up in Vancouver and at one point lived in an apartment under the expo line wast of metrotown and me and a few friends were on the expo line before the millennium line opened headed to surrey and the train went north towards burquitlum on the "new" extension that was NOT OPEN FOR SERVICE ran to the station you stated "is a figment of your imagination" then stopped opened the doors and powered off leaving us in a unfinished station and NO TRANSIT to get back home
Wow that was way more interesting than I expected! Such a beautiful system and region. I'm guessing the only reason the video wasn't more successful initially is it needs a more attention-grabbing title.
I got a Guinness World Record (GWR) when I went to Every SkyTrain Station in Vancouver!!! This is a long shot, but if you EVER want to set a GWR or if you want to know how much work I had to do to get this record, I would be happy to tell you or help you break the record. The new configuration at Lougheed with the line to Lafarge means anyone who wants to will break my GWR, will. I would be happy to assist anyone who wants to see if they want to break my GWR.
I lived in Vancouver for the summer of 2019 and had to take the SkyTrain for work everyday and it was the best! I have totally also been to every station, I loved taking the train. Now, I have to be content with the absolutelly awful service ottawa has.
Every time somebody in Vancouver blows their nose they get a new LRT. Meanwhile there are 2 lexisting rail lines in the Victoria corridors that are going the way of the Toronto-Peterborough line.
I have been on Canada Line trains for almost everyday of my trip in sep 2019. Riding from Brighouse to Waterfront :D. Also been on 2 of the original skytrains in old liveries to Stadium- Chinatown. Rode the entire central Richmond end to Waterfront (not been on the 3 stations of the airport island) , Burrard, Granville and Stadium-Chinatown. I believe there is a new Canada Line station being built in Richmond
how long did it take you? just last week i went to all skytrain stations as well, took me abt 4hrs. started at lafarge, went to vcc, back to comm’l-broad, switched to the expo and went to waterfront, switched to the canada line to yvr, back to bridgeport, went to rich-brighouse, took the line back the other way to waterfront, got off at city hall, went on the 99b line to comm’l-broad again, got on an expo line to king george, went there, came back to columbia to get a train to prod. way-uni, went there, and was done. (i do know that getting off at braid would have technically counted, but just for the sake of it i wanted to go to every station with different lines counting)
London has its Tube Challenge, and I've also heard about this for NYC, Chicago (9 plus hours for 145 stations) and Washington DC (6 plus hours for 91 stations).
Sadly they can't add another car or more cars to the trainset on the Canada Line cuz is restricted from the station and platform design or else the Canada Line can be a very good system w/ lots of potential that can be expanded out to Tsawwassen, or out to south surrey etc. But nope somebody cheap out or wasn't thinking when they designed it back then.
Look Detroit at would you could've had. The People Mover is same design using the mark 1 trains but is only 2.94 mi(4.73 km) in a loop system. It was supposed to be the downtown distributer of an actual train transit in Detroit but of course of ineptitude Michigan politician's getting in the way despite the funding being there to the tune of 600 million by federal funds in 1980s dollars. The People Mover is now just some quaint tourist attraction. The only unique thing about is it passes through 8 buildings as a station of the 13 stations and each station is part of an art commission. It is only single tracked and runs quicker in the clockwise direction than the counterclockwise direction. It is currently shut down cause of pandemic but the trains are running to keep the rails fresh from flash rusting.
I should have moved here a long time ago. I live in Edmonton and the Light Rail Transit fails on comparison to TransLink. I was in Vancouver last year as found the SkyTrain easier to use. And more connected to different cities in Vancouver. Here in Edmonton the train is a disaster. It runs through the city rather than above ground. It's nice that some parts are underground but it's horrendous regardless compared to Vancouver
