Despite the fact that the completion date for the Evergreen Line has been pushed back from 2009 to 2011, it would appear that the project is still moving ahead.
The main obstacle at present, is funding. According to this report from Translink, only $570 million of the estimated $970 million that is required to build and operate the system has been committed so far.
The good news though, is that this hasn't stopped Translink and the municipalities of Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam from pushing the project forward - a $20 million detailed design study was commissioned this past October.
According to results from the preliminary design phase, the Evergreen Line route will have 12 stations in total, which will connect Douglas College in Port Coquitlam to the Millenium Line at Lougheed Town Centre in Burnaby.
Light-rail trains will run along the route every 7 minutes during rush hour, while the end to end ride will take approximately 24 minutes.
At this point, if all goes according to plan (ie funding comes through), then construction is scheduled to begin by this coming September.
For more details on the project, check out Translink's site here.
Everyone hates this line. I find it a waste of valuable money. Instead of having SkyTrain, they choose to have a good for nothing LRT. What's the difference between the Evergreen Line and a Bus-Only Rapid Bus lane (which one costs significantly less still aiming for the same results)? They should be spending this money on building SkyTrain, building of the M-Line. In few years time, they will regret the building of the Evergreen Line.
Posted by: Clauf | Monday, March 12, 2007 at 08:05 PM
Sadly, I agree. This line is highly politicized. In reality, Translink, the GVRD and Translink should be focused on rapit transit to UBC, which is where the real need and demand is.
Posted by: Broadway Bully | Friday, March 16, 2007 at 11:26 PM
LRT is significantly slower than the skytrain, only slightly quicker than buses.
"Public transit is great for other people to take." Everybody wants the other people to ride the public transit so they can drive without traffic. If public transit isn't faster than driving nobody is interested. Since you have to wait for buses and make transfers the only way to make up the time is a faster system like the skytrain.
Putting in a cheap LRT will make things slightly better for those already taking the buses, but it won't help with the traffic problems by encouraging more riders like a more expensive sky train system will.
Posted by: titan | Saturday, April 21, 2007 at 02:00 PM
Too bad you guys have fallen for Falcon-spiel. BUT - if you want to spend 2-3 times what is necessary for transit - go ahead. Just don't look to me for donations. There's a reason why no-one else builds with SkyTrain - they know their subject. And they know that LRT is the safest, the most economical system going. It is also the most popular - no druggy-crime hubs with LRT.
Posted by: Isabella2 | Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 09:39 AM
Did someone say LRT is cheaper? Startup is 2-3 times more expensive with skytrain but the long term benefit is 10 times better. It costs pretty much next to nothing to operate skytrain compare to LTR. I hope those damn politics stop playing games and start building skytrain!
Posted by: Ray | Friday, March 05, 2010 at 02:58 AM
SkyTrain to UBC? Unecessary. The population of the west side is not expanding and no room to grow unless they start building up which residents would veto (NIMBYism). Tri-cities and points east have the West Coast Express. Not perfect, but an option. What's needed is rapid Transit south of the Fraser east to Abby. And no, I don't live there. We wouldn't need the expansion of highway #1 if such a thing existed.
Posted by: Sharon | Thursday, July 15, 2010 at 03:38 PM