SkyTrain route changes take effect

Stage set for new Evergreen Extension

Changes to SkyTrain routes came into effect on Saturday in preparation for the opening of the new Evergreen Extension.

The Expo Line, which travels between King George station in Surrey and Waterfront station in Vancouver, now has two branches. One continues to travel between King George and Waterfront. A second travels between Waterfront and Production Way-University in Burnaby.

The Millennium Line, which had travelled in a loop between VCC-Clark and Waterfront stations in Vancouver, now travels east-west from VCC-Clark to Lougheed Town Centre in Burnaby. The Millennium Line will continue on to the 11-kilometre-long Evergreen Extension to the Lafarge Lake-Douglas station in Coquitlam when the line opens — expected to be sometime before Christmas.

Riders can transfer between the Expo and Millennium lines at Lougheed Town Centre, Production Way-University or Commercial-Broadway station in Vancouver.

There are also changes to the SkyTrain schedules.

Commuters using the Expo Line may notice slightly longer wait times (15-20 seconds), but the trains have more cars to compensate for the delay. Wait times decreased for Millennium Line users because the changes increased frequency from five or six minutes between trains to 3½ minutes. This will result in a 10 per cent capacity increase.