Vancouver, Jan 5, 2026, 08:44 PST
- SkyTrain marked 40 years since paid service began on Jan. 3, 1986.
- TransLink used the milestone to spotlight fleet renewal and major network expansions.
- The agency says SkyTrain’s busiest lines now average hundreds of thousands of weekday trips.
Metro Vancouver’s SkyTrain marked 40 years since it began paid service on Jan. 3, 1986, after a short free trial period, Global News reported. 1
The anniversary matters beyond nostalgia because TransLink is trying to add capacity and extend rapid transit at a time when demand for fast, frequent service is shaping where the region builds and how people commute.
TransLink said SkyTrain has quadrupled from its original 21-kilometre network, and that last year the Expo and Millennium lines averaged nearly 349,000 weekday boardings — trips taken on an average weekday. The agency said it now ranks second in Canada for per-capita ridership, behind Greater Montreal and ahead of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, as it rolls out new Mark V trains and builds the Broadway Subway and Surrey–Langley SkyTrain extensions. “Celebrating forty years of SkyTrain reminds us just how far this bold Expo 86 idea has come,” TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn said in a statement. 2
To mark the anniversary, TransLink invited riders to Waterfront Station on Saturday for giveaways, history posters and a chance to leave thank-you notes for staff. The agency said suppliers Hitachi and Alstom were set to join the event, scheduled for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. just past the fare gates near the SeaBus walkway. 3
SkyTrain’s longevity has helped make it a planning tool as much as a transport system. Fully automated rail — trains controlled by a signalling system rather than onboard drivers — can run short headways, meaning less time between trains, when the rest of the network can support it.
The system’s expansion also feeds a familiar urban playbook: clustering homes, offices and services near stations. Planners often call that transit-oriented development, shorthand for building dense, walkable neighbourhoods around rapid transit.
TransLink has leaned on new rolling stock and longer platforms to squeeze more capacity out of existing corridors. Extensions can change commuting patterns more dramatically, pulling riders from buses and cars by cutting travel times and simplifying transfers.
The next chapter carries risks. Large rail projects face schedule and cost pressure, and any delays in construction or train deliveries would slow capacity gains just as ridership growth tests the system’s limits.
