The first Mark V cars rolled into our operations and maintenance centre in December 2023 after an epic 4,600-kilometre journey across Canada from Kingston, Ontario.

The five cars, which were offloaded over two days, have been connected to form a single, five-car train. We recently began testing the train within our operation and maintenance centre near Edmonds Station.

Soon, you’ll see it making appearances on the SkyTrain tracks when it continues the testing and commissioning process as it prepares to enter service at the end of this year.

We wanted to share with you an exclusive first look inside the train!

In 2019, we asked you what wanted to see in this next generation of SkyTrain cars. You told us you liked the design of Mark III cars. So, we built upon it and made the Mark V even better.

New seating arrangement

The Mark V features a new seating arrangement that creates wider aisles.

This makes it easier for customers who use a wheelchair, as well as customers with strollers, bikes and luggage to move around in the cars. It also increases the capacity of the train, which is helpful during the busiest times of the day.

Flex areas

One of the features you wanted to see was the continued inclusion of flex areas to better serve customers with mobility devices, strollers, bicycles, and luggage.

In the Mark V, we enhanced the flex area by including a strap to hold onto your bike while the train is in motion.

We also added leaning pads in the flex area for customers who prefer to rest on the train without sitting down.

New perimeter seating

Another potential layout improvements identified during engagement was the addition of perimeter (sideways) seating, which is a feature you find on the Mark I trains.

In the Mark V train, there’s a row of perimeter seating in the first and last car, and two rows each in the middle three cars.

The return of the “driver’s seat”

A popular feature of our Mark II and III trains was the “driver’s seat” located at the front and back of the train. It returns on the Mark V!

Improved in-train displays and door indicators

The second-generation Mark II and Mark III trains both feature a map of the SkyTrain network above the doors. It uses LEDs that light up to tell customers what the upcoming stations are.

We’ve enhanced this popular and useful feature on the Mark V train. It’s now a digital LCD display.

The new train also features a new strip indicator light, located underneath the in-train displays, that tell customers when the door is closing.

It replaces the LED indicators that you find in the door corners of the second-generation Mark II and Mark III trains.

(P.S. In the picture below, the train is still in the shop so we couldn’t show what it’s like in action.)

A more comfortable ride

We have also upgraded the heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) systems in the new trains for a more comfortable ride. It offers better cooling and heating than current trains.

More on the new SkyTrain cars

The SkyTrain network is expanding with the Broadway Subway and Surrey Langley SkyTrain projects. Metro Vancouver’s population is growing too with more than a million people set to call the region home by 2050.

With this ahead of us, we’re getting ready with the SkyTrain Expansion Program. As part of this, we’re adding more than 200 new SkyTrain cars:

• 125 cars (25 trains) to replace first-generation Mark I vehicles that entered service in 1985 when the SkyTrain opened and to support the Broadway Subway Project
• 80 cars (16 trains) to improve capacity on the Expo and Millennium Lines
• 30 cars (6 trains) for the Surrey Langley SkyTrain project

New trains like these and other improvements to the SkyTrain system are made possible through Investment Plans financially supported by the Mayors’ Council, the Province of B.C. and the Government of Canada. With demand for transit in the Metro Vancouver region growing, TransLink relies on the support of all levels of government to make future improvements to SkyTrain and the rest of the transit system.

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