Canada Line opening: 1pm, all systems go
Canada Line opening: 1pm, all systems go
I was at Waterfront for the 1pm opening of the Canada Line!
About 30 really excited people hopped on the line there, and as we went to the other stations, it filled up very quickly indeed.
A couple of guys who hopped on the train said they were heading to YVR to go to the bar :) There was a gentleman on a scooter who had been on the Expo Line’s first run too. Another guy had just managed to get the train on his break from work. And three girls who popped on at Bridgeport were actually looking to go to Aberdeen, not YVR—whoops!
It was basically packed as we got to YVR, and the YVR lineup was starting to get long. (If you’re looking to hop off at the airport, there are free popsicles being handed out in the food court!)
A few words of advice as this public opening goes on today.
Large crowds are forming at Waterfront and Broadway-City Hall, so try other stations if you can. Be prepared for waits and drink plenty of water in the hot weather!
We are asking people to get off at Vancouver City Centre instead of Waterfront to alleviate crowding too.
Ok, now some pics from the opening!
Love the new line. Too bad the scheduling isn’t quite right. Last train leaves YVR at 12:57AM and arrives at Waterfront at 1:23AM. Too bad the last Seabus left Waterfront for North Van at 1:22AM! How about delaying that last Seabus to 1:25AM so that people can actually make it over to the North Shore?
VANCOUVER CITY CENTRE: Man, could the volunteers be any ruder at Vancouver City Centre. They ask where Im going and I say “everywhere! I want to fill up my passport” and I get harumphed. Maybe this is New York City Centre. Also the fortune
cookie wrappers all over the place – among drink containers and pamphlets. Not classy.
Mile, there were two lines: one for inbound and one for outbound. Your response to the volunteer’s question certainly didn’t help them do their job, did it?
CITY HALL: Two lines, one for downtown (no wait!), one for Richmond – great idea! Very strange first time going underground there – it’s amazing such a large structure is under the street. And airconditioning! Much better than NYC!
@Derek: I’m sorry, I should have transcribed the whole conversation I had with “John”. I asked him where I could get a stamp and
he said I had to wait in the line. The ONE line. Even if I only wanted to go to Waterfront station. He suggested I should walk there but then I couldn’t get a stamp. I waited in the ONE line for about 15 minutes until it split just before the platform and rode the train to Waterfront. My “unhelpful” answer
was in response to his unhelpful attitude and his playing the role of traffic cop rather than coordinator or happy smiles on opening day. I’m now in the other ONE line (obviously, since it’s the terminus station) at Waterfront. It’s been about 30 minutes to get to “The Station” entrance. I figure at
this point (6pm) the wait is under an hour – not 2.5 as previously reported. Much better!
This is crazy. Don’t people have a life? Waiting in line for hours to ride free? Let’s see, a two zone fare costs $3.75. Are people so cheap that they don’t want to spend $3.75 to ride the Canada Line? Yes, they are. A few weekends in Richmond, there was a long line-up at one of the farms because they were giving away half a cobb or corn (15 cent value).
And another thing. None of the transit maps are updated to show the launch of the Canada Line. Google is not updated and when even searching for stop number, a message on the map shows up that it won’t be in effect until September. Furthermore, we don’t know when exactly the train stops at each location. Another thumbs up for BC Transit!