1.
Canada Line
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The Canada Line is the third rapid transit line built in the SkyTrain metro system in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The line is owned By TransLink and InTransitBC and operated by ProTrans BC, and links Vancouver, Richmond, and it is coloured turquoise on route maps. The Canada Line comprises 19.2 kilometres of track, the line goes from Vancouver to Richmond. It had been scheduled to open on November 30,2009, the Canada Line was anticipated to have 100,000 boardings per day in 2013 and 142,000 boardings per day by 2021, but it has consistently exceeded early targets. Ridership has grown steadily since opening day, with ridership of 83,000 per day in September 2009,105,000 per day in March 2010. During the 17 days of the 2010 Winter Olympics, the line carried an average of 228,190 passengers per day, governance of the project was through Canada Line Rapid Transit Inc. formerly RAV Project Management Ltd. The line was built by SNC-Lavalin, and InTransitBC will manage the line for 35 years under a contract with TransLink. The Canada Line is operationally independent from British Columbia Rapid Transit Company, which operates SkyTrains Expo and Millennium lines, like the other two SkyTrain lines in Metro Vancouver, it is also light metro rapid transit, using fully automated trains on grade-separated guideways. However, the trains are powered by conventional motors rather than the induction system used on the other SkyTrain lines. The Canada Line begins in Downtown Vancouver at Waterfront Station in a subway tunnel beneath Granville Street. It quickly goes into twin-bored tunnels, heading southwest beneath Granville Street, the tunnels then dive deeper to pass below False Creek before rising back up to Olympic Village Station. There, the line back to a cut-and-cover tunnel heading south under Cambie Street. The line emerges from the ground just south of 64th Avenue, the line continues elevated across the North Arm Bridge over the North Arm of the Fraser River, leaving Vancouver and entering Richmond. Just beyond Bridgeport Station, the splits, with the Richmond branch heading south on elevated tracks along No.3 Road. The airport branch turns west and crosses the Middle Arm Bridge over the Middle Arm of the Fraser River, connecting to stations on Sea Island, portions of the airport branch are at grade in order to accommodate a future elevated taxiway for aircraft over the line. Both branches narrow to a track as they approach their respective terminus stations. Just before Bridgeport Station is the OMC facility, which houses the trains not in use. Station construction was designed as a two-stage process, sixteen original stations opened at the same time as the line did
2.
SkyTrain (Vancouver)
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SkyTrain is the metropolitan rail system of Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. SkyTrain has 79.5 km of track and uses automated trains on grade-separated tracks running on underground and elevated guideways. SkyTrain has the worlds longest cable-supported transit-only bridge, known as SkyBridge, the opening of the Evergreen Extension on December 2,2016, made SkyTrain the longest rapid transit system in Canada and the longest fully automated driverless system in the world. SkyTrain has 53 stations serving three lines, the Expo, Millennium, and Canada Lines, the Expo Line and Millennium Line are operated by British Columbia Rapid Transit Company under contract from TransLink, a regional government transportation agency. The Canada Line is operated on the principles by the private concessionaire ProTrans BC under contract to TransLink. SkyTrain uses a system shared with other local transit services. SkyTrain Attendants provide first aid, directions and customer service, inspect fares, monitor train faults, the Expo Line was built in 1985 in time for Expo 86. 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 and it was built on a budget of $854 million. During peak periods, every third Expo Line train provides service to Production Way–University, off-peak and it was built on a $1. 2-billion budget and the final extension from Commercial Drive 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, since December 2,2016, the Millennium Line has operated 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 and two which connect with the West Coast Express commuter train, the original Millennium Lines stations were designed by British Columbias top architects and are very different from 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 Generals Medal in Architecture and this extension adds 11 km and 6 new stations to the Millennium Line. The Canada Line begins at the Waterfront Station hub, then south to the City of Richmond. Opened on August 17,2009, the Canada Line added 15 stations and 19.2 km to the SkyTrain network, the Canada Line cost $1.9 billion, financed by the Governments of Canada and British Columbia, TransLink, and InTransitBC. Canada Line tracks do not interconnect with the older SkyTrain network, current operation, Former operation, SkyTrain provides high-frequency service, with trains arriving every 2–7 minutes at all stations during peak hours. Trains operate between 5,00 a. m. and 1,30 a. m. on weekdays, with reduced hours on weekends on Expo and Millennium lines. SkyTrain has longer hours of service during special events, such as New Years Eve, the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, TransLinks SkyTrain service area is divided into three zones, with fares varying depending on how many zone boundaries are crossed during one trip
3.
Waterfront station (Vancouver)
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Waterfront station is a major intermodal public transportation facility and the main transit terminus in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Waterfront station is located on the shore of Burrard Inlet. Underground passages connect passengers directly to the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel and Canada Place, Waterfront station was one of the first to receive TransLinks new T signage, denoting a transit station. This signage was installed in the core of Vancouver to help visitors during the 2010 Olympics to identify a transit hub. The Vancouver Harbour Water Aerodrome float plane terminals are located nearby. Waterfront station was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1914, the current station is the third CPR station. The last scheduled Via passenger train to use Waterfront station departed on 27 Oct 1979, Waterfront stations transformation into a public intermodal transit facility began in 1977. That year, SeaBus began operating out of a floating pier that was connected to the main terminal building via an overhead walkway above the CPR tracks. The CPRs passenger platform and some of its tracks were torn up in the early 1980s to make way for the guideway of the original SkyTrain line, which opened on December 11,1985. In 1995, platforms were adjacent to the SkyTrain station for the new West Coast Express. In 2002, Millennium Line trains began sharing the SkyTrain tracks with the Expo Line, in 2009, the Canada Line opened with a separate platform and entrance/exit point within the grand CPR station. Waterfront station serves as the terminus point for all three SkyTrain metro lines. A private ferry company, Royal SeaLink Express, ran passenger ferries from a new dock on the west side of the SeaBus terminal to Victoria and Nanaimo in the early 1990s, in 2003, HarbourLynx began operating out of Royal Sealinks old facility at the SeaBus terminal. In 2006, following engine problems with their only vessel. The main station building was designed in a style, with a symmetrical red-brick facade dominated by a row of smooth. The ionic columns are repeated in the interior hall, flanking the perimeter of the space. The main hall features two large clocks facing each other high on the east and west walls, paintings depicting various scenic Canadian landscapes line the walls above the columns. Cordova Street Entrance is an accessible entrance connecting all services at Waterfront Station
4.
Richmond, British Columbia
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Richmond is a coastal city incorporated in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Part of the Metro Vancouver area, it has an population of 218,307 people as of 2017. Richmond has an immigrant population of 60%, the highest in Canada, Richmond is the location of Vancouver International Airport and was the site of the long track speed skating events during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Richmond is located on Lulu Island at the mouth of the Fraser River, neighbouring communities are Vancouver and Burnaby to the north, New Westminster to the east, and Delta to the south. The Strait of Georgia forms its western border, Coast Salish bands had temporary camps on the island, to fish and collect berries, which were scattered and moved from year to year. Certain Coast Salish summer camps were located at Garry Point, and Woodwards Landing, along with the site of the Terra Nova cannery, the Township of Richmond was named by Founding Father John Wesley Sexsmith after his birthplace The Township of Richmond, Lennox County, Ontario. The Township of Richmond, Lennox County, Ontario was named for Governor General for British North America, Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, Richmond, Yorkshire, the first published reference to “Richmond” was a pamphlet about the local farmstead established on Sea Island by Hugh McRoberts. His daughter chose this name because the view across the Fraser River reminded her of Richmond, north of Sydney, Australia. At the meeting in her home to choose the name Mrs. Hugh Boyd, wife of the first reeve of Richmond, was told that the name came from her birthplace, the Township of Richmond, British Columbia incorporated on November 10,1879. On December 3,1990, Richmond was designated as a City. The first Town Hall, the Agricultural Hall and the Methodist Church, were built at the corner of No.17 Rd and No.20 Rd near the main settlement on the northwestern tip of Lulu Island at North Arm. The old fishing village of Steveston on the tip of Lulu Island is now home to several museums and heritage sites. Currently, London Heritage Farm, the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, Richmond comprises most of the islands in the Fraser River delta, the largest and most populated island being Lulu Island. The city of Richmond includes all but a portion of Lulu Island. The next largest island, Sea Island, is home to the Vancouver International Airport, in addition to Lulu and Sea Islands,15 smaller islands make up the citys 129.66 square kilometres land area. The city also includes the village of Steveston, located in the far southwest corner of the city, and Burkeville. Both Steveston and Burkeville were independent villages until they were annexed by Richmond, the drawback of Richmonds geographical location was that since all the land averages just one metre above sea level, it was prone to flooding, especially during high tide. There is a possibility that, during an earthquake, the dykes could rupture, Richmond is also at risk of a major flood if the Fraser River has an unusually high spring freshet
5.
British Columbia
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British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada, with a population of more than four million people located between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. British Columbia is also a component of the Pacific Northwest and the Cascadia bioregion, along with the U. S. states of Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. The first British settlement in the area was Fort Victoria, established in 1843, subsequently, on the mainland, the Colony of British Columbia was founded by Richard Clement Moody and the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment, in response to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. Port Moody is named after him, in 1866, Vancouver Island became part of the colony of British Columbia, and Victoria became the united colonys capital. In 1871, British Columbia became the province of Canada. Its Latin motto is Splendor sine occasu, the capital of British Columbia remains Victoria, the fifteenth-largest metropolitan region in Canada, named for the Queen who created the original European colonies. The largest city is Vancouver, the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada, the largest in Western Canada, in October 2013, British Columbia had an estimated population of 4,606,371. British Columbia evolved from British possessions that were established in what is now British Columbia by 1871, First Nations, the original inhabitants of the land, have a history of at least 10,000 years in the area. Today there are few treaties and the question of Aboriginal Title, notably, the Tsilhqotin Nation has established Aboriginal title to a portion of their territory, as a result of the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision. BCs economy is diverse, with service producing industries accounting for the largest portion of the provinces GDP and it is the endpoint of transcontinental railways, and the site of major Pacific ports that enable international trade. Though less than 5% of its vast 944,735 km2 land is arable and its climate encourages outdoor recreation and tourism, though its economic mainstay has long been resource extraction, principally logging, farming, and mining. Vancouver, the provinces largest city and metropolitan area, also serves as the headquarters of many western-based natural resource companies and it also benefits from a strong housing market and a per capita income well above the national average. The Northern Interior region has a climate with very cold winters. The climate of Vancouver is by far the mildest winter climate of the major Canadian cities, the provinces name was chosen by Queen Victoria, when the Colony of British Columbia, i. e. the Mainland, became a British colony in 1858. The current southern border of British Columbia was established by the 1846 Oregon Treaty, British Columbias land area is 944,735 square kilometres. British Columbias rugged coastline stretches for more than 27,000 kilometres and it is the only province in Canada that borders the Pacific Ocean. British Columbias capital is Victoria, located at the tip of Vancouver Island. Only a narrow strip of the Island, from Campbell River to Victoria, is significantly populated, much of the western part of Vancouver Island and the rest of the coast is covered by thick, tall and sometimes impenetrable temperate rainforest
6.
Metro Vancouver Regional District
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Metro Vancouver is a political body and corporate entity designated by provincial legislation as one of the regional districts in British Columbia, Canada. Now officially known by the name of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. Further, it was known as the Regional District of Fraser–Burrard for nearly one year upon originally incorporating in mid-1967, the MVRD is under the direction of 23 local authorities, it delivers regional services, sets policy and acts as a political forum. The regional districts most populous city is Vancouver, and Metro Vancouvers administrative offices are located in the City of Burnaby, the MVRDs boundaries match those of the Vancouver census metropolitan area as identified by Statistics Canada. The Greater Vancouver Water District and the Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District were established in 1924 and 1956 respectively, the Government of British Columbia incorporated a regional district for this western portion of the Lower Mainland named the Regional District of Fraser-Burrard on June 29,1967. Just under a later, the regional district was renamed as the Greater Vancouver Regional District on June 13,1968. In 2007, the GVRD applied to change its legal name a second time to simply Metro Vancouver. The regional district was formally renamed a second time by the Government of British Columbia on January 30,2017 to the Metro Vancouver Regional District. The Metro Vancouver Regional District is located east of the Strait of Georgia, the boundaries of the MVRD match those of the Vancouver CMA. 5% from its revised 2011 population of 2,313,328. This regional district comprises 23 local authorities as members,21 municipalities, one electoral area, note, Abbotsford is a member for parks purposes only. Electoral Area A comprises all unincorporated land within the district boundaries. There are also seventeen Indian reserves within the area that are not subject to governance by local authorities or the regional district. Abbotsford also participates in the Metro Vancouver regional district, but only for parks purposes, each of these is governed by a board of directors. The board of the MVRD has 38 directors coming from the 23 local authorities who are MVRD members, each board director is an elected official of one of the local authorities, with the exception of the representative for Electoral Area A, which has no elected council. As of 2017, the organization had about 1,500 employees, the principal function of Metro Vancouver is to administer resources and services which are common across the metropolitan area. The Metro Vancouver Board has defined its strategic priorities for 2015 through 2018 in its Board Strategic Plan, the organization categorizes its work into eight action areas, as described in the following subsections. However, 84% of the budget is spent in three of those areas - the three utilities. Metro Vancouvers commitments and its members commitments to each area are outlined in eight board-approved management plans as referenced below
7.
Asia
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Asia covers an area of 44,579,000 square kilometres, about 30% of Earths total land area and 8. 7% of the Earths total surface area. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the population, was the site of many of the first civilizations. Asia is notable for not only its large size and population. In general terms, Asia is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean, the western boundary with Europe is a historical and cultural construct, as there is no clear physical and geographical separation between them. The most commonly accepted boundaries place Asia to the east of the Suez Canal, the Ural River, and the Ural Mountains, and south of the Caucasus Mountains, China and India alternated in being the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1800 A. D. The accidental discovery of America by Columbus in search for India demonstrates this deep fascination, the Silk Road became the main East-West trading route in the Asian hitherland while the Straits of Malacca stood as a major sea route. Asia has exhibited economic dynamism as well as robust population growth during the 20th century, given its size and diversity, the concept of Asia—a name dating back to classical antiquity—may actually have more to do with human geography than physical geography. Asia varies greatly across and within its regions with regard to ethnic groups, cultures, environments, economics, historical ties, the boundary between Asia and Africa is the Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez, and the Suez Canal. This makes Egypt a transcontinental country, with the Sinai peninsula in Asia, the border between Asia and Europe was historically defined by European academics. In Sweden, five years after Peters death, in 1730 Philip Johan von Strahlenberg published a new atlas proposing the Urals as the border of Asia, the Russians were enthusiastic about the concept, which allowed them to keep their European identity in geography. Tatishchev announced that he had proposed the idea to von Strahlenberg, the latter had suggested the Emba River as the lower boundary. Over the next century various proposals were made until the Ural River prevailed in the mid-19th century, the border had been moved perforce from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea into which the Ural River projects. The border between the Black Sea and the Caspian is usually placed along the crest of the Caucasus Mountains, the border between Asia and the loosely defined region of Oceania is usually placed somewhere in the Malay Archipelago. The terms Southeast Asia and Oceania, devised in the 19th century, have had several different geographic meanings since their inception. The chief factor in determining which islands of the Malay Archipelago are Asian has been the location of the possessions of the various empires there. Lewis and Wigen assert, The narrowing of Southeast Asia to its present boundaries was thus a gradual process, Asia is larger and more culturally diverse than Europe. It does not exactly correspond to the borders of its various types of constituents. From the time of Herodotus a minority of geographers have rejected the three-continent system on the grounds there is no or is no substantial physical separation between them
8.
Golden Village (Richmond, British Columbia)
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Cambie is a commercial district of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada best known for its high concentration of Asian-themed shopping malls. It is the home to the second-largest Asian community in North America, Richmonds population is up to 60 percent Asian-Canadian. Richmond is sometimes seen as the new Chinatown of Greater Vancouver, while Chinatown is often viewed as a lower income area, bordering Vancouvers notorious Downtown Eastside, Richmond is largely an affluent suburb. Golden Villages approximate borders are Sea Island Way to the north, Garden City Road to the east, Alderbridge Way to the south and it is considered part of the citys main commercial district, extended from its original area around Richmond Centre. Golden Village is served by transit, funded by TransLink. Since 2009, the area is connected to Vancouver and to central Richmond by the SkyTrain Canada Line, there are also bus connections in Golden Village to Richmond Centre, New Westminster, British Columbia, Steveston, the University of British Columbia and Burnaby, British Columbia. Golden Village is directly connected to Richmonds Sea Island, home to Vancouver International Airport, via the Moray Bridge and the Sea Island Bridge
9.
Cambie Street
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Cambie Street is a street in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is named for Henry John Cambie, chief surveyor of the Canadian Pacific Railways western division, there are two distinct sections of the street. North of False Creek, the runs on a northeast-southwest alignment. As such, the street runs perpendicular to the Cambie Bridge. Instead, Nelson Street carries southbound traffic onto the bridge, the downtown section of Cambie Street runs from Water Street in Gastown in the north to Pacific Boulevard in Yaletown in the south and is a two-way street for its length. South of False Creek, the street is a major arterial road. They argued in favour of using the existing Arbutus Street rail corridor instead, as such, even though it cost less than using a tunnel boring machine, the plan drew heavy criticism from area residents and businesses. Gregor Robertson, who became the mayor of Vancouver, was a strong supporter of Cambie Street merchants. He called the handling of the line construction an injustice. Leave for further appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was subsequently denied, on the Canada Line opening day of August 17,2009 Robertson said Greater Vancouver needed more rapid transit but the Canada Line was a great start and that he was a Johnny-come-lately to the project. During the years 2006 to 2009 portions of the south of False Creek were closed to traffic to allow for construction of the line. The cut-and-cover tunnel runs underneath the east side of the street for most of its route, south of West 63rd Avenue, the line emerges from the tunnel and runs on an elevated structure across the Fraser River
10.
SeaBus
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The SeaBus is a passenger-only ferry service in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It crosses Burrard Inlet to connect the cities of Vancouver and North Vancouver, owned by TransLink and operated by the Coast Mountain Bus Company, the SeaBus forms an important part of the regions integrated public transportation system. The SeaBus fleet currently consists of four vessels, the ferries operate between approximately 6,00 am and 1,00 am from Monday to Saturday, and between 8,00 am and 11,30 pm on Sundays and holidays. During the daytime from Monday to Saturday two of the three ferries are in service, with the two ferries departing simultaneously from opposite termini and passing each other halfway. The 1. 75-nautical-mile crossing takes 10–12 minutes in each direction with a speed of 11.5 knots, with a 3-5 minute turnaround and, therefore. At these times, over 50 crossings are made a day, during the evenings and on Sundays, service is reduced to a 30-minute schedule with only one ferry operating. The SeaBus is capable of operating on a 12-minute turnaround, however, at the higher speeds, the wake created disturbs other users of the Burrard Inlet. During overloads they do sometimes operate at the higher speeds, the ferries operate with four crew members on board and engineers who stay ashore most of the time, but do regular checks of the engines and are available to come aboard at any time. Seabus crew members are trained and certified to deal with marine emergencies, the original emergency procedure involved using the other SeaBus to evacuate passengers from the distressed SeaBus. The turnstiles on the entrance into the SeaBus waiting area are used only for counting the number of passengers boarding, when the maximum number is reached, the turnstiles lock and no more passengers are allowed on that SeaBus. Seabus is a Fare Paid Zone similar to SkyTrain and buses, Fare inspections are done by Transit Security Officers and on occasion by members of the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Police Service. Seabus attendants may check fares, but do not conduct enforcement, seabus attendants can call Transit Security to deal with non-compliant passengers. Failure to pay the fare or retain a valid fare may result in being removed from the terminal and/or fined $173. Traditionally, like all public transit in Vancouver, the SeaBus offers free rides on New Years Eve to discourage drinking and driving, the SeaBus stops on the Vancouver side at Waterfront Station, near the Vancouver Convention Centre and the cruise ship terminal at Canada Place. A skywalk connects the SeaBus terminal to the station building. In North Vancouver, the SeaBus stops at the purpose-built Lonsdale Quay, in addition to serving commuters, Lonsdale Quay has become an important tourist destination, with a hotel and public market. The current SeaBus fleet consists of the vessels, The ferries are catamarans constructed out of aluminium. The ferries are double-ended so that they can travel in either direction without turning around, there are four diesel engines in each vessel, one for each propeller
11.
West Coast Express
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West Coast Express is the only interregional commuter railway in British Columbia, Canada. A one-way trip takes 75 minutes, which is faster than driving to Downtown Vancouver, the commuter railway is owned by TransLink, the transportation authority of the Metro Vancouver region, and a member of the Canadian Urban Transit Association. The South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Police Service and transit security officers conduct random fare inspections within the Fare Paid Zones at stations, people caught without valid fare are removed from the train and may be fined $173. Contracted commissionaires provide station attendant services and a security presence, even checking fares on occasion at stations, enforcement of fares and other regulations is conducted by the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Police Service and transit security. Rail service is supplemented by TransLinks bus No,701, which runs four eastbound and four westbound trips per weekday—one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and two in the evening—between Coquitlam Central Station and Mission City Station. This service does not run on weekends and holidays, TransLinks regular one-zone adult/concession fare rates apply to these trips. The eastbound bus makes regular stops until it reaches Haney Place Exchange in Maple Ridge and this process is reversed for westbound buses. The entire one-way route is completed in 60–70 minutes, until December 30,2016, West Coast Express ran coach-style TrainBus service, which provided additional service when trains were not running. This service was replaced by bus No.701, existing paper fares were honoured until July 24,2015. West Coast Express fares can also be used as a fare on other TransLink services. A one-way fare expires 180 minutes from the time of purchase, see TransLink Fares for more information on the pricing of the West Coast Express fares. Denotes wheelchair access Each train consists of a General Motors/ EMD F59PHI diesel-electric locomotive, West Coast Express also operates a MPI MP36PH-3C for backup. The total fleet of coaches is 44. Each passenger carriage has a capacity of 144 people. Passenger amenities include washrooms, a bar, power outlets, wheelchair accessibility. The carriages and locomotives are maintained by Via Rail and, under the contract, Bombardier began a contract to operate the trains for the next five years, commencing on May 5,2014. After May 2014, Track time is negotiated between TransLink and the CPR, which balances the use by the West Coast Express with its freight operation. TransLinks 2009 Capital Plan included upgrades to the Waterfront and Mission stations, TransLink has been criticized for the low ridership of the West Coast Express and supports its expansion
