REVscene - Vancouver Automotive Forum

Ikkaku · 08-17-2009, 11:25 PM

I know, eh? And to think, a week or two down the line the lineups will be non-existent

Lancerion · 08-17-2009, 11:27 PM

Millennium Line sure wasn't that crazy when it first opened.

danned · 08-17-2009, 11:47 PM

anyone had the stamps filled
i don't the bonus one,

is it in the lansdowne station? i saw oh buzz.translink

rsx · 08-17-2009, 11:52 PM

The people who lined up for this are a bunch of tools. It's not like the train's going anywhere..losers.

pure.life · 08-17-2009, 11:56 PM

maybe the government hired people to line up and cause a buzz so that they won't look bad for investing on the Canada Line.

sh0n · 08-17-2009, 11:56 PM

Rode the train today.

Here's how it all went down.

Boarded the train at the Cambie 49th station at 1:05 - waited 5 mins.

The station is decent, but then again you see one you see the rest with the only exception being the waterfront, airport and the ones that are not underground.

It took about 25 mins from Cambie and 49th to reach Waterfront. At first I was not impressed with the speed - they really had a lot of traffic and definitely alot of kinks that needed to be ironed out.

Luckily we stayed on the train (as we wanted to go to Richmond airport anyways).

It was about another 25-30 minutes until we reached richmond.

The ride on that new bridge is really nice - you get some good views of the mountains, vancouver and fraser river.

As we reached bridgeport - I was joking with another passenger that they should have called the station "Casino or Riverrock"

**Tip for all commuters - bridgeport station is where'd go to transfer to the airport. This is true unless you were able to board a YVR specific train coming from the waterfront station. The station attendent there told me that the trains alternate - I.E Train to brighouse / Train to YVR / Train to Brighouse - you get the picture. Its about anywhere from 2-5 minutes between the interval.

The gong show part of it was to the Airport. Everyone wanted to get there - and boy was the trains packed like sardines. I overheard one of the main controllers talking to the protrans traffic staff and another passenger in that the lineup was 12 blocks long at brighouse and 8,000 ppl that have either rode / or were waiting to get on at waterfront.

As we reached the Airport, we thought we should just stay on the train given the gong show it would have been to go out to check the station and line up again.

It was a good decision cause later when we got back to the bridgeport station at about 2:45 the attendent said that the wait at the airport was 2 hours.

We eventually went to aberdeen for afternoon tea. On my way out of the station at about 2:50 ish there was about 100 people lining up and my estimate was that it would have been a good 30-45 min wait.

After the afternoon tea we went back to the aberdeen station to check out the lineup - it had grew 2x in size. Said screw it and ended up cabbing it back to Vancouver.

As a summary not related to the story above:
- Gong show at all stations - anywhere from 30 mins to 2 hr wait just to get on
- Very impressed with the trains - its very smooth and quiet
- There were certainly kinks during the first day that need to be eventually ironed out
- All the stations look the same to me except waterfront, yvr and the ones that are not underground - overall they seem to be well built and are very nice.

What I liked:
- Happy to have the Canada line - we are the only canadian city that has a mass transit option from airport to downtown
- Loved the look of the new trains. They are pretty spacious and seats are comfortable
- Stations look well built, modern although it would be nice if they were more personalized just like millennium line

What I didn't like:
- Not enough signs
- They don't have that foldable seat near the door just like the old skytrains. That seat is $$$$$ cause you are so close to the door and you are able to have a seat
- For the handicapped people your only option is the mid car compartment as that cart is for the people with bikes and luggage. Its not like the old skytrain where you can fold the seat up and have enough room.
- Agree with one of the poster that the speaker system is not that audible - wish it was louder or more clear
- Also agree that more detailed instructions would be good similar to what HK has - i.e telling you to exit on your left or right and what the next station is

Amuse · 08-18-2009, 12:17 AM

Lineup at Rmd Ctr

[youtube]PVokwS0kTi8[/youtube]

Some HD vids:

[youtube]GcA77gqag30[/youtube]

[youtube]ly_dwzVtqa4[/youtube]

[youtube]jXCsYzRvgHk[/youtube]

hal0g0dv2 · 08-18-2009, 12:22 AM

w0w went today, richmond fucking packed

ziggyx · 08-18-2009, 12:24 AM

I really like the architecture of some of the skytrain stations they look really nice.

clowe · 08-18-2009, 12:35 AM

Went to Brighouse, the line was too long and barely moving so I went to the Airport, the line was fairly long but was moving quite quickly, got on in like 40-45 minutes. Sea Island Centre and Templeton stations were quite empty, so if you went there, you could've got on and went all the way down to Waterfront without any wait time. The Canucks mascot, Fin, was at the airport signing autographs

and giving away Canucks stickers.

illicitstylz · 08-18-2009, 12:36 AM

so stupid to wait 3-5 hours in line in order to just save the $4 canada line fare

danned · 08-18-2009, 01:08 AM

i didn't wait like 3- 5 hours
longest wait for me is nearly an hour

way2quik · 08-18-2009, 01:40 AM

not sure if this was mentioned, but with the new Canada Line, Translink is discontinuing the 98 B-Line, as well as the 424 (also the entire terminal) that goes to the Airport.

Ikkaku · 08-18-2009, 01:55 AM

not just the 98B but whiterock/ladner busses will not go downtown anymore... the passengers will be dropped off at Brighouse station, according to my mother.

JSALES · 08-18-2009, 02:00 AM

was it really worth waiting in line for?

goo3 · 08-18-2009, 02:13 AM

It was like Disneyland or Expo86.. except you're waiting to get onto a train LOL.

I hopped on @ 7pm @ granville + georgia. No wait.. only reason I hopped on.

The underground platforms don't have enough space for ppl.. well there's space, but it's all behind the escalators. To get there, you have to go by the narrow space beside the escalators. Conveniently, there's always ppl who like to stand there and stay in the way. Weird.

InvisibleSoul · 08-18-2009, 02:41 AM

I've never even ridden the Millenium line for the full duration yet.

JSALES · 08-18-2009, 03:02 AM

seems like there were a lot of chinese people on the train

In_MODeration · 08-18-2009, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSALES

seems like there were a lot of chinese people on the train

LMAO!

orange7 · 08-18-2009, 04:18 AM

when i'm back to Vancouver, I'm going to use my Upass (free ride) and test ride the track. And the best part is, there won't be a line up.

LoL at those whoe lined up. . . they are still not the first group of people to use the track. The track was tested before opening to the public.

The_AK · 08-18-2009, 04:34 AM

hmm,
Vancouver now seems more like a large city that can be taken seriously now with this established "metro". Am i the only one who feels this way?

impactX · 08-18-2009, 06:05 AM

No turnstile = fail.

7seven · 08-18-2009, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InvisibleSoul

I've never even ridden the Millenium line for the full duration yet.

Got u beat, I haven't even ridden on the Millenium line at all, hell I haven't taken public transit since 1995

CRS · 08-18-2009, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by impactX

No turnstile = fail.

Coming in January... At the latest.

Don't worry! hahaha it is going to come!

drunkrussian · 08-18-2009, 10:03 AM

anyone know if the bridgeport park and ride is still gonna be $2 for all day parking? that's pretty lame, considering the other park and ride is free and connected to b-line...