SkyTrain 40 years is the milestone TransLink is marking in Vancouver, British Columbia, as reported by Progressive Railroading, as it looks back on how the automated rapid transit network has evolved since its early days.

SkyTrain 40 years in Vancouver: lines, ridership, expansion

TransLink says the system started with 13 miles of track and has since grown to about four times its original footprint. In a TransLink news release, the agency cast the anniversary as both a look back at SkyTrain’s roots and a marker of the next phase.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn said the milestone shows how far the “bold Expo 86 idea” has come, while pointing to the system’s role in keeping Metro Vancouver at the forefront of modern, climate-focused transportation.

Expo 86 and the early vision for SkyTrain

In the early 1980s, Vancouver-area officials were preparing for Expo 86 and looking for a way to show the world what kind of city the region wanted to be. TransLink said an automated rapid transit system with frequent trains, compact stations, steep grades, and a small footprint that could weave through dense urban areas matched that ambition.

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Ridership in early 1986 quickly exceeded expectations. Daily boardings rose from 40,000 in the first week of paid service to 50,000 by the end of the month, with Saturdays hitting 70,000.

SkyTrain history Vancouver: key milestones and line openings

When the Expo officially opened on May 2, 1986, SkyTrain became the world’s first fully automated driverless rapid transit system—a point also referenced in Railway Supply coverage of SkyTrain’s long-running driverless-technology era. With the turn of the century came the most significant expansion in SkyTrain’s history to that point. The Millennium Line opened in 2002 and marked a new chapter in Metro Vancouver’s growth strategy.

Another major step followed in 2009, when the Canada Line added another layer of connection across the region. In 2016, the Evergreen Extension connected the Millennium Line to Port Moody and Coquitlam. With that link in place, TransLink said SkyTrain had become a truly regional system.

SkyTrain expansions: Surrey Langley and Broadway Subway

Today, TransLink says SkyTrain is entering an era of renewal, with major expansions in progress. Those projects include the Surrey Langley SkyTrain extension and the Broadway Subway, as the network continues to evolve beyond its original footprint.

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