Waterfront Station (Vancouver)
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 Waterfront Station |
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| First opened: | 1977 |
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| Line(s): | Expo Line, Millennium Line, Canada Line |
| Connections | West Coast Express SeaBus 4 Powell 7 Nanaimo Station 8 Fraser 44 UBC 50 False Creek South / Waterfront Station 98 B-Line Richmond Centre |
Waterfront Station is a major intermodal public transportation facility in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
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[edit] Location
Waterfront Station is located on the south shore of Burrard Inlet, just east of the north foot of Granville Street at 601 West Cordova Street. The station is within walking distance of Vancouver's historical Gastown district, the Canada Place cruise ship terminal, the Helijet International helipad, and Vancouver Harbour Water Aerodrome, the downtown float plane terminals for Baxter Aviation, Harbour Air and West Coast Air.
Other nearby facilities include the downtown campuses for Simon Fraser University and the British Columbia Institute of Technology, federal government services in the Sinclair Centre, the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre, and the Harbour Centre revolving restaurant and observation deck. Underground passages connect to the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel and Canada Place, while a second street-level entrance opens onto Howe Street.
[edit] Services
Waterfront Station is the downtown Vancouver terminus for the following TransLink services:
- The Expo SkyTrain line to Burnaby, New Westminster and Surrey;
- The Millennium SkyTrain line to Burnaby and New Westminster (via the Expo line), circling back to VCC-Clark Station in east Vancouver;
- The Canada Line subway to Richmond and Vancouver International Airport (*under construction - due to open in November, 2009);
- The SeaBus passenger ferry to Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver;
- The West Coast Express commuter train and TrainBus to Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, and Mission; and
- Various local and suburban bus routes, including the 98 B-Line express service to Richmond.
HeliJet International does not directly serve Waterfront Station, but its helipad is adjacent to the SeaBus terminal and passengers can use the SeaBus's overhead walkway to access Waterfront Station's main terminal building. The float plane terminals are located approximately two blocks west of Canada Place.
[edit] History
Waterfront Station was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and was the Pacific terminus for the CPR's transcontinental passenger trains to Montréal and Toronto until circa 1979, when VIA Rail took over the railway's passenger operations and rerouted trains to Union Station (now called Pacific Central Station) near False Creek.
Waterfront Station's transformation into a public intermodal transit facility began in 1977. That year, the SeaBus began operating out of a purpose-built floating pier that was connected to the main terminal building via an overhead walkway above the CPR tracks. The CPR's passenger platform and some of its tracks were torn up in the early 1980s to make way for the guideway of the SkyTrain (the Expo Line), which opened in late 1985. During Expo 86, special SkyTrain shuttle trains operated between Waterfront Station and Stadium-Chinatown Station, connecting the Canadian Pavilion at Canada Place to the main Expo site.
As part of its expansion efforts, in 1987, Starbucks opened its first international location at Waterfront Station.
In 1995, platforms were built adjacent to the SkyTrain station for the new West Coast Express, which uses the existing CPR tracks. (The West Coast Express platforms are in the same location as the old CPR platforms.) In 2002, Millennium Line trains began sharing the SkyTrain tracks with the Expo Line.
A private ferry company, Royal SeaLink Express, ran passenger ferries from a new dock on the west side of the SeaBus terminal to Victoria and Nanaimo in the early 1990s, but ultimately folded. In 2003, HarbourLynx began operating out of Royal Sealink's old facility at the SeaBus terminal. In 2006, following major engine problems with their only vessel, they folded as well.
[edit] Previous CPR station
The current station is the third CPR station, the second CPR station was located one block west at the foot of Granville, and unlike the current classical-styled Waterfront Station was built in "railway gothic" like the CPR's many railway hotels.
[edit] See also
[edit] The next station is...
| Waterfront | NEXT STATION OUTBOUND → | TERMINUS | ||
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| Expo Line | Burrard | King George | ||
| Millennium Line | VCC-Clark | |||
| Canada Line (under construction) |
Vancouver City Centre | YVR-Airport or Richmond-Brighouse |
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| SeaBus | Lonsdale Quay | |||
| West Coast Express | Port Moody* ■ | Mission | ||
| *West Coast Express is proposed to stop at North Burnaby en route to Port Moody in or after 2009 | ||||
