| Vancouver Downtown Historic Railway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Streetcar No.1207 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Indefinitely suspended | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | City of Vancouver | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | Heritage streetcar, seasonal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | Transit Museum Society | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | July 29, 1998 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | October 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Old gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrification | 600 V DC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TheVancouver Downtown Historic Railway was a heritage electric railway line that operated from 1998 to 2011 betweenGranville Island andScience World (Olympic Village Station after 2009), inVancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It operated only on weekends and holidays, usually from May to mid-October, and was aimed primarily at tourists. Two restoredinterurban trams were used on the line, which used a former freight railway right-of-way.
The line was owned by the City of Vancouver. The cars were operated by volunteers from theTransit Museum Society. The car shown (1207) was privately owned. By 2018 both tram cars (1207 and 1231) have been donated and moved to theFraser Valley Heritage Railway inCloverdale.
Service was inaugurated on July 29, 1998, and was considered to be a demonstration project for a modern downtownstreetcar system that the city plans to develop.[1] It continued to operate almost every summer through 2011, as an excursion-oriented historic electric railway line. In 2010, the heritage service did not operate, with the line from west of Olympic Village used for a modern-streetcar demonstration service known as the "Olympic Line" (seesection below). Temporary modifications made to theoverhead wire took longer than expected to undo, delaying the start of 2011 service, with the service starting on July 1 and scheduled to run mid-October.[2] The line did not operate in 2012,[3] and service suspended indefinitely due to financial constraints with no set plans to resume operation.[4] Furthermore, a Vancouver City Council report published in March 2014 recommended against reviving service on the heritage line.[5]
When last operational in 2011, the line ran fromGranville Island toOlympic Village Station, however, Olympics-related construction razed the section of line east of theCambie Bridge.
| Make/Model | Description | Fleet size | Year built | Year retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built inNew Westminster,British Columbia | Interurban car | 3 - only 1207 remains | 1905 | 1958 | ex-British Columbia Electric Railway |
| St. Louis Car Company | Interurban car | Originally 20; 5 survive - 1231 | 1912 | 1958 | ex-British Columbia Electric Railway |
The fleet also includes an ex-BrusselsLa Brugeoise et NivellesPCC-style streetcar, painted red and cream.
The line's operator, the Transit Museum Society, also owns a large fleet of vintagebuses andtrolley coaches.
From January 21 to March 21, 2010,[6] a 1.8-kilometre (1.1 mi) free demonstration service called the "Olympic Line" (named for the2010 Winter Olympics) ran every six minutes, 18 hours a day on the Downtown Historic Railway between Olympic Village station and Granville Island,[6] using two modernBombardier Flexity Outlook streetcars, No. 3050 and No. 3051, leased from theBrussels tram system.[7] The City of Vancouver and the administrators of Granville Island paid $8.5 million for associated upgrades to the infrastructure.
The two stations were single side platforms with two shelters providing partial coverage from the elements. The Olympic Village station shared the parking lot with existing Canada Line station at West 2nd Avenue and Cambie Street. The Granville Island station was only accessible via foot from Anderson Street and Lamey's Mill Road below theGranville Street Bridge andHighway 99.
| Station | Connections | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granville Island | Route 50 - Waterfront Station - False Creek South | Anderson Street and Lamey's Mill Road | Single sided platform with shelters |
| Olympic Village | Canada Line Route 15 Cambie - Olympic Village Station Route 50 - Waterfront Station - False Creek South Route 84 - VCC–Clark Station - UBC | West 2nd Avenue and Cambie Street | Single sided platform with shelters. Shared parking withOlympic Village station |
The City considered the streetcar demonstration "a tremendous success", with over 550,000 boardings during the two months of the experiment.[8] Bombardier received an award for "Exceptional Performance and Outstanding Achievement" at the 2010 CUTA awards, recognizing its operation of over 13,000 one-way trips with zero equipment failures, zero station delays and zero injuries.[9] Former mayorGregor Robertson indicated a desire to continue operation of the line, with a potential extension toMain Street-Science World station via False Creek South, but mentioned that the city alone lacks the millions of dollars needed to complete the construction and equipment purchases.[10] Nonetheless, a streetcar along the alignment used by the Olympic Line was part of two of the proposals for rapid transit running east–west through the city of Vancouver for 2020.[11]
The proposal for a full-service modern streetcar line would extend the former heritage line throughChinatown andGastown toWaterfront Station, and eventually toStanley Park. There would be a separate line intoYaletown with longer-term potential for a number of other lines.
On October 13, 2014, Emily Jackson, writing inMetro Vancouver Newspaper, reported that Friends of the Olympic Line called onVancouver City Council to commit $5 million to incorporate a refurbished line into Vancouver's transit authority.[note 1]The organization has called for the line to be extended toMain Street–Science World Station. The city has allocated $400,000 to decommission the line's former route.
In a 2021 report a two line light rail network (12 km and 25 stations) using most of the old route of the heritage line as well as new routing was estimated to be in the $1.1 billion range.[13]
{{cite magazine}}:Missing or empty|title= (help){{cite magazine}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)Connecting Granville Island, a key entertainment centre for the 2010 Winter Games, and the Olympic and Paralympic Village Vancouver, the Olympic Line streetcar service will extend Vancouver's regional transit network along False Creek during 60 days of celebration before and during the 2010 Winter Games.
The group called Friends of the Olympic Line is calling on politicians from all parties to commit $5 million to re-animate the line known as both the Downtown Historic Railway and the Olympic Line.
