TransLink fast-tracks delivery of new SkyTrain cars

TransLink late last week announced plans to accelerate the delivery of 28 new SkyTrain cars for the Expo and Millennium lines.

To be built by Bombardier, the units now are slated to arrive by the end of 2019, three years ahead of schedule.

The agency was able to speed up the order by using federal funds that had been planned for later expenditures, TransLink Chief Executive Officer Kevin Desmond said at a Feb. 23 press conference.

By 2020, TransLink expects to roll out 80 new cars on the SkyTrain system. Twenty-four of those units will be built by Hyundai and will be in service on the Canada Line by 2020's end.

The new cars will provide capacity for 8,2000 additional riders per peak hour in both directions on all three SkyTrain lines, TransLink officials said in a press release.

The total cost for the 80 new units is CA$298 million. The purchase will be funded through the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund. TransLink ordered the first 28 new units in late 2016.

"With transit ridership continuing to soar in our region, these additional cars will go a long way in providing relief for our customers," Desmond said.

In 2017, TransLink reported a record 407 million total boardings across all its modes of transit.