Hey guys, welcome back to the channel! Today in our station focus series, we are tackling
perhaps the most complicated station we’ve done yet: Commercial-Broadway.
Located east of the False Creek Flats in beautiful Vancouver, BC, this massive interchange station
situated along Broadway at the Commercial Drive intersection host multiple different
modes of transit, and it is Metro Vancouver’s second busiest transit hub.
Let’s hop on an Expo Line train, and head over to take a look!
[Music]
Before we jump into the video, we would like to give a quick shout out to our newest patrons:
Graham Gersdorff, Jordan Hollingsworth, and Steven Gu, you guys rock!
Joining us over on Patreon means you’ll be able to get earlier access to what we’re
up to, behind-the-scenes footage that you won’t be able to find anywhere else, a direct
channel of communication to us, and it’s just a great way to help support us in bringing
more videos to you guys.
Now, back to the scheduled content for today.
Stepping off onto the centre platform on the elevated Expo line level, and we can already
see that something funky is going on: the two Expo Line tracks straddle the centre platform
we are standing on, but across on the opposite side of the Waterfront bound track, there
is in fact an extra side platform that is in use.
This side platform is a new addition to the station as part of major upgrades to the station
that started in 2015; in fact, it just opened in February of this year, so it is plenty
new for us to check out.
Since most of the passenger traffic at this station is for downtown Vancouver towards
Waterfront station, the platform was added so that the trains can open doors on both
sides, and relieve some of that rush.
[Music]
Besides being brand spanking new with a bright and airy design, this new platform also has
new digital next train screens that look quite sleek and are much upgraded from the older
red dot matrix screens on the old platform.
Unfortunately though, it seems like our good old feathery friends have long since invaded
the new platform, and are leaving their mark everywhere around here.
[Music]
Otherwise, the standard platform amenities are found on both platforms, and the open
air design makes this station pretty nice to wait in, at least when it’s not super busy.
Alright, time to take the stairs down to the concourse on street level, and check that out.
This station building and concourse on the south side consists of a long corridor with
some newspaper stands and benches laying around,
and it interestingly connects two exits of the station.
We’ll first be heading to the southmost exit on 10th Avenue.
This exit is the newest one in the station, having been added as part of renovations in
2008, opening up to a smaller side street off Commercial Drive.
This entrance features some usual amenities such as compass machines, maps, and compass
fare gates, and as a recent new addition to the station, a bike parkade with capacity
for 42 bikes is also located here beside the entrance, along with some nice bike lanes
on 10th Avenue itself, and Mobi bike rental available right at the intersection.
[Music]
Cool views can of course be had here, as you can see the parallel guideways for the Expo
line running right overhead as you look up.
[Music]
Our next destination is the other side of the station, which we are going to take a
bit of a shortcut to get to by walking up Commercial Drive, as indicated by this map
for easier access to the Millennium line without having to go back up to platform level.
And in no time, we have arrived at the Commercial Drive and Broadway intersection, for which
this station is named.
Broadway is one of the major east-west thoroughfares in Vancouver, and the location of the future
Broadway extension of the Millennium line, which will connect this station with the Canada
Line at Broadway-City Hall station.
The second entrance of the station is located right on the south side of Broadway as well,
and it connects to the 10th Avenue entrance that we’ve just visited.
The layout of this entrance is a bit peculiar though, with the maps and compass machines
right in the middle separating the entrances into two sides, with loads of fare gates on
either side, and the Expo line guideways right overhead.
The last entrance of the station is rightacross the street from where we are standing right now,
beside a large Shoppers Drug mart location.
Don’t worry guys, we haven’t forgotten about the buses that run along Broadway, which
is another major piece of transit connection here at Commercial Broadway station.
The 99 B-Line express bus route connecting to UBC terminates right here, and being the
region’s busiest bus route, there’s naturally a lot of passenger demand, and this giant
bus shelter is the result of that.
Long enough to serve the 99 as well as the local trolley bus route number 9, it offers
plenty of cover for the rainy Vancouver days, some lean bars for passengers to rest on,
and we especially love the marked lanes that help direct passenger flow to different parts
of the bus.
And of course, here on Broadway is where you’ll get some more nice views of the Expo Line
trains running across the skyline.
Our next destination is further down on Commercial Drive, and where we think is the best spot
for railfanning at this station.
The Millennium Line tracks are below grade in this cut that was built for freight
trains, and the station extends all the way down here.
Combined with the Expo line guideways running overhead and the express buses terminating
here, this may just be the most perfect place to spot trains and enjoy the view.
[Music]
Speaking of the buses, they actually terminate and sit right up here, just north of the station
proper, where there is a small service building for drivers to rest and recharge.
[Music]
You may have already noticed the colourful and diverse wraps of these 99 B-Line buses,
and this is actually done to cover up the RapidBus branding that will be launching soon
in the beginning of next year, although the 99 route would not be part of that program,
and it will switch to using the regular articulated buses without the wrap by then.
[Music]
Alright, enough railfanning for now, let’s head back south, and check out the Broadway
north entrance of the station properly.
Entering the station via this entrance, and you’ll find out that uniquely, there is
actually a small plaza inside the station on street level prior to the fare gates. It
looks as if they just blocked up a preexisting street on either end, and the inside became
a plaza filled with vendors and stores, and of course the entrance to the station proper.
This plaza continues all the way onto Commercial Drive right near the railway cut as well,
so passengers can make use of the entrance from there. Either end features fare gates
and compass machines, so you won’t have to worry about needing to travel all the way
to the other side.
Time to head into the station, and check out the concourse. This is the wider and busier
one of the two station buildings, and it features multiple sets of escalators, both up to connect
to the Expo line, and down to connect to the Millennium Line.
[Music]
A new feature recently added to the station
is the SkyTrain Assistance desk located right here on the Millennium Line side of the building.
You can ask for directions and assistance, and get any of your questions answered here.
Great addition to well used station like this.
[Music]
The last part of this massive hub to check out is the Millennium Line, which is just
a level below us.
This Millennium line platform is an island platform that is similar to many others on
the SkyTrain system, but one unique aspect is definitely all the green surrounding us,
on the walls of this railway cut. The scenery definitely makes this platform a beautiful
place to wait for trains, however short that wait might be.
[Music]
Alright guys, time to head back to the Expo Line to end our journey there.
This time, instead of leaving the station, we will be taking the pedestrian bridges across,
which can be accessed through these escalators in the concourse.
This new bridge was added along with the new platform, parallel with the older pedestrian
bridge still in used right beside us.
[Music]
Alright guys, hope you enjoyed this tour of Commercial-Broadway station, which is certainly
one of the most important stations in the whole network, bringing countless people closer
to their work and school every single day, and a great station to look at in terms of design.
Like, subscribe, and comment down below to tell us your favourite part of this station,
and what station we should visit next in the SkyTrain network or somewhere else.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and consider supporting us on Patreon for behind the scenes
access and extra footage.
Thanks for watching guys, and we’ll see you in the next one!
[Music]