SkyTrain marks 34 years of service: A look back at how it all started

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It’s a milestone anniversary for a major transportation link in the Lower Mainland.

34 years ago the very first SkyTrain car rolled out onto the tracks at Waterfront Station and was greeted by cheering passengers including former B.C. Premier Bill Bennett.

Ben Murphy with TransLink explains that SkyTrain was originally built for Expo 86, a major transportation world fair that was held in Vancouver in 1986.

“At the time it was built for Expo 86. The theme for Expo 86 was transportation and communication. And that was a little bit of a challenge because Vancouver didn’t have a rapid transit system. In fact, we were a little bit behind some other cities in the country,” he says. “But SkyTrain was built and it was pretty much a hit from day one.”

He says at the time, the fact that SkyTrain was automated was a huge advancement for technology and its use in transit infrastructure.

“One of the things that people still marvel at is that it is automated,” Murphy says.”Back in 1985, you can imagine that was really cutting edge technology and a really big deal. It was a pretty impressive system right from the word ‘go’.”

While SkyTrain has become a part of many people’s daily travel, some notable figures have also boarded the trains.

“We have a whole range of people who travel on the SkyTrain, including royals. Back at Expo 86, Prince Charles and Princess Diana were photographed there with the SkyTrain.”

Over the last three decades, the expansion of SkyTrain has continued, with SkyTrain now being the longest fully automated driverless system in the world.

“It was pretty simple back then, it was just the one line that went from Waterfront to New Westminster and it was just called SkyTrain. Today it’s a combination of three lines; the Expo, Millennium and Canada Line. SkyTrain has become synonymous with Vancouver. People know it as a bit of a symbol, and I think it’s something that most people here are proud of.”