VANCOUVER

VIDEO

PHOTO

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.

ROUTE

SKY TRAIN (ELEVATED/UNDERGROUND AUTOMATED LIGHT RAIL)

Owner: TransLink

The route designation S is for convenience only, and was not used by TransLink.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SYSTEM

NETWORK LENGTH

• SkyTrain: 21.4 km.

HISTORY

• Vancouver streetcars: (electric) 28 June 1890 - 21 Apr. 1955.
• North Vancouver streetcars: (electric) 1 Sept. 1906 - 23 Apr. 1947.
• New Westminster streetcars: (electric): 8 Oct. 1891 - 4 Dec. 1938.
• Interurban trams: (electric) 3 June 1891 - 28 Feb. 1958.
• SkyTrain (automated LRT): 11 Dec. 1985 - today.
• Canada Line (Metro): 17 Aug. 2009 - today.

GAUGE

• All streetcars and interurbans: 1435 mm.
• SkyTrain / Canada Line: 1435 mm.

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. "British Columbia Electric Railway Company Limited", Canadian Rail, Jan.-Feb. 2010 (No.534), p.3-9.
• 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.
• Twenty nine years of public service. Vancouver: British Columbia Electric Railway Company Limited, 1926 (?).

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
• History of the B.C. Electric Railway Company
• A short history of interurbans in the Lower Mainland (from the Trans Link Buzzer, 24 March 2009)
• Steveston tram
• TransLink
• Vancouver Once Had Streetcars & Interurbans (on Rail for the Valley)

Copyright Gabor Sandi 1998-2025

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.

Flags on this site are from the FOTW Flags Of The World website.