SkyTrain is the medium-capacity rapid transit system serving the Metro Vancouver region in British Columbia, Canada. SkyTrain has 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. In , the system had an annual ridership of , or about per weekday as of , making it the 7th busiest metro system in North America and the 5th busiest in Canada and the US.
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 uses the world's third-longest cable-supported transit-only bridge, known as SkyBridge, to cross the Fraser River.
With the opening of the Evergreen Extension on December 2, 2016, SkyTrain became the longest rapid transit system in Canada and the longest fully automated driverless system in the world. The total lengths of the automated lines of the Shanghai Metro, Singapore MRT, Kuala Lumpur Rapid KL, Dubai Metro and Riyadh Metro have since surpassed those of SkyTrain.
SkyTrain has 54 stations served by three lines: the Expo Line, the Millennium Line, and the Canada Line. The Expo and Millennium Lines 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 Metro Vancouver Transit Police who can enforce fares and write infraction tickets. SkyTrain attendants (STAs) provide first aid, emergency response, directions and customer service, monitor train faults, and operate the trains manually if necessary.
Network
Expo Line
The Expo Line connects Waterfront station in Vancouver to King George station in Surrey, principally along a route established by the Westminster and Vancouver Tramway Company as an interurban line in 1890. The Expo Line (originally referred to as simply "SkyTrain" until the opening of the Millennium Line) was built in 1985 in time for Expo 86. It now has 24 stations. The Expo Line ran only as far as New Westminster station initially. In 1989, it was extended to Columbia station and in 1990, once the SkyBridge was finished, it continued across the Fraser River to Scott Road station in Surrey. In 1994, the terminus of the Expo Line became King George station in central Surrey. It was built on a budget of $854million (1986 dollars). Effective October 22, 2016, Expo Line trains began operating on a new branch to Production Way–University station, taking over the previous Millennium Line service between Waterfront and that station. During peak periods, trains between Waterfront and Columbia arrive every 2 to 3 minutes. Between Waterfront and King George, trains arrive every 2 to 5 minutes during peak hours, while trains between Waterfront and Production Way arrive every 6 to 7 minutes in the peak hours.
Millennium Line
Prior to October 22, 2016, the Millennium Line shared tracks with the Expo Line from Waterfront station to Columbia station in New Westminster, then continued along its own elevated route through North Burnaby and East Vancouver, ending at VCC–Clark station, near Vancouver Community College's Broadway campus. It was built on a $1.2-billion budget and the final extension from Commercial Drive station (now Commercial–Broadway station) to VCC–Clark station was opened on January 6, 2006. From October 22, 2016, to December 1, 2016, the Millennium Line operated from VCC–Clark to Lougheed Town Centre station. As of December 2, 2016, the Millennium Line operates between VCC–Clark station in Vancouver and Lafarge Lake–Douglas station in Coquitlam. The Millennium Line has 17 stations, three of which are transfer stations with the Expo Line (Commercial–Broadway, Production Way–University, and Lougheed Town Centre) and two which connect with the West Coast Express commuter train (Moody Centre and Coquitlam Central). The original Millennium Line's stations were designed by British Columbia's top architects and are unlike those on the Expo Line. In 2004, Busby and Associates Architects, designers of the Brentwood Town Centre station in Burnaby, were honoured for their work with a Governor General's Medal in Architecture.
Construction on the Millennium Line's Evergreen Extension, from Lougheed Town Centre in Burnaby to Lafarge Lake–Douglas in Coquitlam, was completed in 2016 and it was opened for revenue service on December 2, 2016. This extension adds and 6 new stations to the Millennium Line.
Canada Line
The Canada Line begins at the Waterfront station hub, then continues south through Vancouver into the City of Richmond and Sea Island. From Bridgeport station, the Canada Line splits into two branches, one heading west to the YVR–Airport station at Vancouver International Airport and the other continuing south to the Richmond–Brighouse station in Richmond's city centre. Opened on August 17, 2009, the Canada Line added 15 stations and to the SkyTrain network. Waterfront station is the only station where the Canada Line directly connects with the Expo Line; however, Vancouver City Centre station is within a three-minute walk from Granville station via the Pacific Centre mall, making an unofficial transfer to the Expo Line. The Canada Line cost $1.9billion, financed by the Governments of Canada and British Columbia, TransLink, and InTransitBC. The Canada Line's trains, built by Hyundai Rotem, are fully automated, but are of a different design from the Expo and Millennium Lines' Bombardier-built fleet. They use conventional electric motors rather than linear induction motor technology. Canada Line tracks do not interconnect with the rest of the SkyTrain network, and there is a separate fleet maintenance depot."Canada Line Opens In November 2009." Railway Gazette International 162.(2006 Jul.): 47. Associates Programs Source Plus. Web. December 15, 2011.
Operations Line Opening year Route length Stations Terminus stations Travel time Frequency Combined frequency Peak Off-peak Peak Off-peak Expo Line 1985 20 40 min 2–5 min 6–10 min 2–3 min 3–5 min 2016 20 41 min 12 min 12 min 2024 18 36 min 12 min — — — Millennium Line 2002 17 36 min 3–4 min 6–10 min — — Canada Line 2009 14 Waterfront 25 min 6 min 6–15 min 3 min 3–8 min 13 26 min 6 min 6–15 min
Frequency SkyTrain provides high-frequency service, with trains arriving every 2 to 6 minutes at all stations during peak hours. Trains operate between 5:07 a.m. and approximately 1:55 a.m. on weekdays, with reduced hours on weekends on the Expo and Millennium lines. The last eastbound trains leave the downtown terminus between approximately 12:40 a.m to 1:15 a.m on weekdays. SkyTrain has longer hours of service during special events, such as New Year's Eve, the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, and marathons.
+ Cash fares as of July 1, 2026 Fare classOne zoneTwo zonesThree zonesAirport AddFare Adult (cash)$3.50$5.10$6.70+$6.50 Adult (stored value)$2.85$4.20$5.40+$6.50 Concession (cash)$2.30$3.40$4.60+$6.50
Fares
TransLink's SkyTrain service area is divided into three zones, with fares varying depending on how many zone boundaries are crossed during one trip (two- and three-zone passengers are charged the one zone rate after 6:30 pm rush hour, and on weekends and statutory holidays). Customers may purchase fares using cash, debit cards, or credit cards from self-serve ticket vending machines at the mezzanine level of each station. A variety of transit passes are available, such as the pre-paid FareSaver ticket, daily DayPass, monthly FareCard, annual EmployerPass, post-secondary student U-Pass, and other specialized passes. Canadian National Institute for the Blind identification cards are accepted without the need to be read by the fare box. One-time fares are valid for 90 minutes on any mode of transportation with any number of transfers, including all SkyTrain lines and bus and SeaBus routes. Concession fares are available for youth aged 13 to 18, seniors 65 and older, and HandyCard holders. Children under 12 have been able to ride the system for free since September 2021.
Until April 2016, SkyTrain's fare system was a proof-of-payment system; there were no turnstiles at the entrances to train platforms. Instead, fares were typically enforced by random ticket inspections – usually by police or transit security but occasionally by SkyTrain attendants – through trains and stations. This was supplemented by controlled access – with the payment of a fare or proof of payment required to pass through a staffed gate – at special events where extremely high ridership was expected, such as immediately after BC Lions or Vancouver Canucks games.
Fare gates
Installing faregates to prevent fare evasion was considered as early as at the time of the system's opening, but was rejected multiple times because the expense of implementing, maintaining, and enforcing them would exceed the losses prevented. In 2005, TransLink estimated it was losing $4million (5 percent of revenue attributed to SkyTrain) annually to fare evasion on SkyTrain. While the Canada Line stations, along with those on the Millennium Line, were designed to allow for future fare gates, the Canada Line opened in 2009 without them, despite stated intentions to include them. Expo Line stations have since been redesigned and retrofitted to accommodate the new fare gate system.
The 2008 Provincial Transit Plan outlined several SkyTrain system upgrades, including replacement of the proof-of-payment system with a gated-ticket system. According to Minister of Transportation Kevin Falcon, the gated-ticket system was to be implemented by a private company by 2010. In April 2009, it was announced that the provincial and federal governments would spend $100million to put the gates in place by the end of 2010. However, in August 2009, a TransLink spokesman said the gates would not be installed before 2012, and that a smart card system would be implemented at the same time.
It was announced on August 14, 2013, that bus-issued transfers (magnetic strip paper cards) would continue to be issued for cash fares paid on buses, but that these transfers would not work at SkyTrain or SeaBus station fare gates, which require a Compass Card or a 90-minute paper Compass ticket to operate. This means that a bus rider paying cash is required to pay a second fare to transfer to SkyTrain or SeaBus. Those transit users paying cash but beginning their trips at a SkyTrain or SeaBus station are not subject to this second fare because they are issued Compass tickets which are accepted as valid transfers on TransLink buses.