Vancouver has Launched New Light Rail Line for Winter Olympics Sites

The Canadian city of Vancouver has launched a new light rail line serving the Winter Olympics sites, which will provide 60 days of free service until mid-March.

The 1.8km line connects Granville Island and the new Canada Line Olympic Village Station at West 2nd Avenue and Cambie Street. The line will provide a trip time of six minutes, with the service running every six to ten minutes, operating 18 hours a day and seven days a week.

The line is using two Bombardier Flexity streetcars, also North America’s first 100% low-floor streetcars, which Bombardier loaned from Belgium’s Société des Transports Intercommunaux de Bruxelles.

The company will operate the vehicles as the co-sponsor of the line with the city of Vancouver, which has spent $8.5m on upgrading the old rail line.