All-door boarding coming to Commercial–Broadway SkyTrain station!
All-door boarding coming to Commercial–Broadway SkyTrain station!
Starting February 2, 2019, there will be a new option for getting on and off Expo Line trains heading westbound towards downtown Vancouver. A new platform at Commercial–Broadway Station will soon be open for customers, bringing all-door boarding to SkyTrain for the first time.
All-door boarding will help you get where you need to go faster, by reducing crowding on the platform and improving passenger flow at the station.
If you’re travelling on the Expo Line heading towards downtown Vancouver (westbound):
- Connect to Millennium Line by exiting via doors on right (Platform 5)
- Connect to 99 B-Line and other buses by exiting via doors on left (Platform 3).
If you’re on the Millennium Line transferring to the Expo Line, you have two options:
- Take the new overhead walkway to the new platform (Platform 5) to board the Expo Line heading downtown (westbound) only
- Use the original overhead walkway to access the original platform (Platforms 3 and 4) to access trains heading both east and west.
Additional staff and customer signage will be available to assist customers with this change.
It’s all part of TransLink’s Maintenance and Repair Program. The upgrades at Commercial–Broadway – the most significant station upgrades – are now complete. This station is one of the busiest stations on the system with 200,000 transit journeys each weekday.
Upgrades to the station include:
- A new platform for westbound Expo Line trains
- A new walkway above Broadway, connecting the new platform directly to the Millennium Line
- A new bus shelter and queuing system
- An expanded entrance and concourse area for the Broadway stationhouse
- Two new elevators and four new up/down escalators
- More customer amenities including a new bike parkade (capacity: 42 bikes), public art and retail space
You will still be able to board eastbound trains towards Production Way-University and King George at Platform 4. To travel westbound towards Waterfront, you can now board trains at both Platforms 3 and 5.
Recently, we installed new Passenger Information Display Systems (PID’s) at Commercial–Broadway as part of the SkyTrain Customer Communications Upgrades.
This is just one more example of the investments we’re making across the network to improve the customer experience.
Author: Tanushree Pillai
I thought initially the plan was to have the doors open one side to let people off and then open the other to let them on? A bit like how the Seabus works. I imagine it was decided that it would be too confusing for passengers yes?
Hi Alan, great question! Having the doors open on both sides provides the most time for customers to board and exit the train and allows customers to choose the route that is most convenient to them whether they are transferring between trains or exiting the station. This door operation procedure will be monitored and can be adjusted in the future if necessary.
From 1986-1990 New Westminster had “All door boardings” as the inbound track had platform extenions over the inbound track, so that people could use all doors.
Yep, super cool! We have photos of New Westminster Station with the temporary inbound platform in this post from the archives. It helped with the movement of people to/from Expo 86 and special events, while we constructed the extension of SkyTrain into Surrey. We’re super excited to have permanent all-door boarding at Commercial–Broadway Station since it will help reduce crowding and improve passenger flow through the station.
Hi! Any word on when the new Commercial-Broadway bike parkade will be ready?
That’s great to hear about the opening of the new platform. However, there’s a massive bird mess over there. Any clue when those spike installment to prevent the birds from resting there?