SkyTrain (Vancouver) - Design

The Expo and Millennium lines follow a common route between Waterfront Station in Downtown Vancouver and Columbia Station in New Westminster, serving the cities of Vancouver, Burnaby, and New Westminster. From Columbia, Expo Line trains continue through Surrey to King George Station; Millennium Line trains loop back through New Westminster, Burnaby, and Vancouver to VCC–Clark Station. The Canada Line travels southward from Waterfront Station in Downtown Vancouver to Richmond, where the track splits at Bridgeport Station; trains alternate between a southern branch ending at Richmond–Brighouse Station and a western branch ending at Vancouver International Airport. Although most of the system is elevated, SkyTrain runs at or below grade through Downtown Vancouver, for half of the Canada Line's length, and for short stretches in Burnaby and New Westminster.

SkyTrain uses Thales' SelTrac signalling technology to run trains automatically. The program was developed by Alcatel, and loads from a 3.5" diskette. There are two computer systems called the VCC (Vehicle Control Computer), one for each of the Expo (VCC1) and Millennium Lines (VCC2). Each VCC is a cluster of three Intel-IA32 Based Processors with proprietary hardware, configured in a fault tolerant setup. For every command that is sent to the VCC, at least two of the processors must agree with the action, otherwise an error is generated and the command is ignored. The VCCs communicates with the train's VOBC (Vehicle On Board Computer), whose data is transmitted through leaky coax cable laid along the tracks. There are up to two VOBCs per married-pair trains, i.e. 4-car train would have two VOBCs. If the VCCs fail or communication between the VCC and the VOBC is lost, the train will 'time-out' and (EB) emergency-brake. The VCCs have a command-line-console, but normally the trains are controlled through a system known as the SMC, which also provides scheduling. All commands from the SMC are verified to be safe by the VCC before execution. However if the SMC fails, the system can still be operated through the VCC. This is known as 'degraded mode'. The use of this program and technology has never led to accidents. SkyTrain was the longest fully automated rapid-transit system in the world as of 2006. The Expo Line and Millennium Line have a punctuality record of over 96 per cent; passenger interference with train doors is a principal cause of delays. There has been one derailment and no collisions in the system's history.

The SkyTrain network is fully accessible, including vehicles and stations. Mark I train cars have one designated wheelchair position, Mark II and Hyundai Rotem cars have two, and all stations have elevators.

SkyTrain uses the world's longest bridge dedicated to transit services. Skybridge crosses the Fraser River between New Westminster and Surrey. It is a 616 m (2,021 ft) long cable-stayed bridge, with 123 m (404 ft) tall towers. Two additional transit-only bridges, the North Arm Bridge and the Middle Arm Bridge, were built for the Canada Line. The North Arm Bridge is an extradosed bridge with a total length of 562 m (1844 ft), with shorter 47 m (154 ft) towers necessitated by its proximity to the Vancouver International Airport. The North Arm Bridge also has a pedestrian/bicycle deck connecting the bicycle networks of Vancouver and Richmond. The Middle Arm Bridge is a shorter box girder bridge.

TransLink upgraded all Expo Line platform station edges to match those on the Millennium Line shortly after it was completed. The new, wider edges are brighter and are tiled to provide a safer environment for the visually impaired. The Canada Line also uses this safety feature in its stations. Since the opening of the Millennium Line, aside from platform tile upgrading, many Expo line stations have been refitted with new signage and ticket vending machines.

The distinctive tri-tone chime used in the SkyTrain system was recorded in 1984–85 at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver. The automated train announcements have been voiced by Laureen Regan since the opening of the Millennium Line in 2002, and by Karen Kelm between 1985 and 2001.

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