Hey guys, welcome back to the channel!
Today, we’re exploring yet another station on the Canada Line. Located at the intersection
of Cambie Street and Southwest Marine Drive, Marine Drive station is the first station
north of the Fraser River, and the southmost station still in the city of Vancouver.
The station was opened in 2009 along with the rest of the line in anticipation of the
2010 Winter Olympics, and it boasts a respectable ranking of 20 out of 53 in terms of passenger
traffic, with 10 thousand three hundred passengers travelling through this station every day
in 2018.
Let’s hop on a Hyundai Rotem EMU, and head there to check it out!
[Music]
Before we get into today's video, I wanted to tell you about our Ko-fi creator page.
Buying us a coffee or a transit token on Ko-fi is a great way to help support us in making
new videos for you guys, and you can also commission us over there if you would like
to see a certain video being made!
Also, we've got a PO Box! If you would like to send us anything such as your transit cards
or any other fanmail, please send it to this address using your national mail service,
and we'll open it up in the next episode of Catching Up with Reece in January!
Now, back to the scheduled content.
We start our journey on the northbound platform of the station. If you haven’t noticed by
now, Marine Drive is actually an open air station, being the only Canada Line station
in the City of Vancouver with above-ground station platforms.
The detailing is similar to other above ground stations on the line, with wooden roofs over
the platforms, wide open glass panels surrounding the platforms, and wide platforms featuring
amenities such as designated waiting areas, benches, next train signs, and TV screens
to watch and pass the time.
The view is quite spectacular up here, with not just the cute Canada Line trains to see,
but also the beautiful surroundings, especially these vibrant and colourful trees, as well
as the North Arm Bridge and Fraser River just up ahead.
[Music]
Alright, time to descend a giant set of stairs, and check out the concourse level of the station.
This station concourse is pretty interesting in that, instead of having a shared large
area inside the fare-paid zone connecting the two different platforms, this concourse
is split into three sections separated by two sets of faregates, with no way of travelling
between the platforms without going through the fare gates.
Between the two fare-paid zones is a shared area containing compass machines, maps, and
a currently unoccupied passenger information booth. There are big signs over both the fare
vending machines and the fare gates, so make sure you pay attention to those so you don’t
head in the wrong direction.
Let’s now head out of the Station premises. Exiting the station, you’ll first see a
big set of staircases leading directly down and out of the station, but we’re actually
going to first turn left, and head into this large area beside the concourse.
This is Marine Gateway, a large retail complex filled with stores, offices, and even condos,
occupying a large area just east of the station and engulfing it within. Right here, there
is an A&W and Starbucks, and Tim Hortons is right underneath, so commuters can get a quick
bite before hopping onto the train, or relax here underneath the roof to escape the rainy
Vancouver weather.
Walking further in, you’ll find a street parallel to the tracks, where the main Marine
Gateway complex is located. This scenic route will take you to the condo and office buildings
on the east side, as well as a T&T Supermarket and a Cineplex movie theatre,
besides these countless stores and shops.
And at the end of the line is a large plaza for gatherings on days with better weather,
and what is probably the most iconic landmark of the area right across the street, the Golden Tree.
This is a 13-metre tall sculpture created by famous Vancouver artist Douglas Coupland,
and it is meant to be a replica of the iconic Hollow Tree in the city’s Stanley Park.
Back to the station we go, and looking down from the balcony here, we can already see
our next destination:
The Marine Drive Bus Exchange serves three different trolleybus routes as well as numerous
other bus routes, and this long bus loop extends quite far along the southern end of the station.
The loop also houses Yukon Rectifier Station, a building containing equipment used to convert
Alternating Current to Direct Current for the Trolley Buses to use. Lots of empty space
and shelters on this side of the loop especially under the tracks, serving the many passengers
looking to go into downtown or eastward towards the city of New Westminster.
[Music]
And at the west end of the loop under the SkyTrain tracks is where you’ll be able
to get a breathtaking view of the whole station as well as the shopping complex. The glass
exterior of the station frames the guideway and stairs, while skyscrapers sprout up all
around us, letting us experience the wonders of transit-oriented development.
[Music]
Finally, the last piece of the puzzle is this set of stairs and escalators taking us back
onto concourse level and into the station. This area under the guideway also houses some
benches and bike parking for convenience, but of course there are plenty of both of
those up on the deck as well.
[Music]
And as we tap into the station, we will end our journey on the northbound platform yet
again, waving goodbye to this beautiful station.
Like, subscribe, and comment down below to tell us your favourite part of Marine Drive
station, and whether you have a station you like even better on the Canada Line. Follow
us on Twitter and Instagram, and support us on Ko-fi if you’d like to see more great
videos on the SkyTrain and other transit systems in Canada and all around the world. Thanks
for watching, and we’ll see you in the next one!
[Music]