One of the new Skytrain cars was on display at the Stadium Skytrain Station in Vancouver May 6. The new cars will alleviate the crush on the Expo and Millennium lines.
There’s more room but fewer seats on the new SkyTrain cars that are being added to the Expo and Millennium rapid transit lines.
Media were given the chance Wednesday to check out some of the 48 new Bombardier cars, the first of which will go into service in about a month and help grow the current daily ridership of 240,000.
Each of the new cars seats 33 people and has a total capacity of 142 to 145 people or an increase of about 10 per cent.
The previous edition of this particular Mark II SkyTrain car had 41 seats and a capacity of 130 people, although TransLink spokesman Drew Snider said as many as 150 have sometimes crammed on.
The oldest SkyTrain cars, the Mark Is that went into service in 1986, had 36 seats and could carry a total of 80 people each.
What’s most important to SkyTrain riders, who have to tolerate being squished together like sardines in a can during rush hours, is that the new cars will increase the two lines’ capacity by about 30 per cent.
That’s particularly important considering the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympic Games, said B.C. Rapid Transit Co. (the SkyTrain division of TransLink) president Doug Kelsey.
“When the Olympics come, it’s business un-usual,” said Kelsey. “The thing is going to be full even with the extra capacity.
“The system will be tested like never before but we’re up to the task,” he said.
None of this comes cheaply.
Car costs are based on production runs, with prices dropping as orders grow.
TransLink’s 48-car order cost $190 million or about $3 million per car. The transportation authority picked up half of that cost, with the remainder of the funding split between the provincial and federal governments.
With more standing room, the new cars have more ‘stanchions’ or poles to hang on to than the previous Mark II model.
While soft, the new seats are vinyl instead of cloth — something that Kelsey said can save $100,000 in cleaning and replacement costs annually.
In addition to the familiar audio announcements, new lighted route maps in each car indicate which line you’re on and what station you’re approaching.
There are also cameras in each car which record to a disk in the event of any problems.
The cars are now painted grey and blue instead of their predecessors’ predominately white decoration, which is tougher to keep clean.
All 48 cars, which were built in Sahagun outside of Mexico City, will be in service before the Olympics.
Their addition will bring the TransLink fleet size to 258 cars.
source: theprovince
