VANCOUVER

ABBREVIATIONS ON THE MAP

I created the above map by overlaying an OpenStreetMap (OSM) map with my own data. Copyright on the OSM map is © OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed under a CC-BY-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 licence).

Please note that the OSM map used as a template for this map corresponds to the situation at the time the map was downloaded and may show features that did not exist at the time the GS Tram Site is supposed to show. In particular, it may show bridges and highways that were built later.

ELEVATED/UNDERGROUND AUTOMATED LIGHT RAIL ROUTES

Owner: TransLink

SKY TRAIN

The route designations E1, E2 and M are for convenience only, and are not used by TransLink.

CANADA LINE (CLASSIC UNDERGOUND/METRO LINE)

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SYSTEM

NETWORK LENGTH

• SkyTrain: 79.5 km.
• Canada Line: 19.2 km.

HISTORY

• Vancouver streetcars: (electric) 28 June 1890 - 21 Apr. 1955.
• North Vancouver streetcars: (electric) 1 Sept. 1906 - 23 Apr. 1947.
• Interurban trams: (electric) 3 June 1891 - 28 Feb. 1958.
• SkyTrain (automated LRT): 3 Jan. 1986 - today.
• Canada Line (Metro): 17 Aug. 2009 - today.

GAUGE

• Vancouver and North Vancouver streetcars: 1453 mm.
• SkyTrain / Canada Line: 1435 mm.

TRAM PRESERVATION

The Transit Museum Society runs vintage interurban streetcars between Granville Island and Science World on weekends and holidays during the summer months. A demonstration service by modern trams from Europe was run on the same line during the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver.

SOURCES

PRINT

• Cockle, D. "Tram-train community rail for Fraser Valley", Tramways & Urban Transit, Dec. 2010 (73: 876), p.465-466.
• Conn, H. & Ewert, H. Vancouver's glory years: Public transit 1890-1915. North Vancouver: Whitecap Books, 2003.
• "End of city trams in Vancouver" (news item), The Modern Tramway, July 1955 (18:211), p.142.
• Ewert, H. The perfect little street car system. North Vancouver: North Vancouver Museum and Archives Commission, 2000.
• Ewert, H. The story of the B.C. Electric Railway Company. North Vancouver: Whitecap Books, 1986.
• Guide to Vancouver. Vancouver: British Columbia Electric Railway Company (BCER), 1930.
• Hyde, R. The Sockeye Special: The story of the Steveston tram and early Lulu Island. Richmond (B.C.): Author, 2011.
• Kelly, B. & Francis, D. Transit in British Columbia: The first hundred years. Madeira Park (B.C.): Harbour Publishing, 1990.
• Simons, V. "Vancouver prepares for the Winter Olympics", Tramways & Urban Transit, Jan. 2010 (73: 865), p.11-13.
• Till, H. Diary of significant events in the history of B.C. Electric's transportation system, 1889-1946. Vancouver: B.C. Electric Co., 1947 [?].
• Transit System Map of Vancouver, B.C. [Vancouver]: Challengers Cartographers, 1949, 1952 and 1954.

WIKIS

• British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER)
• Canada Line
• Evergreen Line
• SkyTrain (Vancouver)
• TransLink (Vancouver)
• Transportation in Vancouver
• Vancouver Downtown Historic Railway

WEB SITES

• Canadian Street Railways
• The History of Metropolitan Vancouver
• History of the B.C. Electric Railway Company
• TransLink

Copyright Gabor Sandi 1998-2024

Disclaimer: Everything on this site was written and/or prepared at the author's discretion. The author has tried to be accurate where facts are presented, but this does not mean that these facts are necessarily accurate. People needing more reliable information should refer to appropriate sources presented, on the Internet or elsewhere, by authoritative professional or academic bodies.

To get in touch with the webmaster, send an e-mail to g_sandi at hotmail.com.

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