Skip to main content

SkyTrain signals more work for Thales

Contract win extends manufacturer's SelTrac CBTC footprint in Vancouver’s mass transit system
By David Arminas September 29, 2020 Read time: 2 mins
Broadway Subway will extend the existing SkyTrain network (© Jerry Coli | Dreamstime.com)

Thales has been selected to provide its SelTrac communications-based train control (CBTC) signalling technology for the Vancouver Broadway Subway Project.

The Broadway Subway is an extension of the SkyTrain’s Millennium Line, extending it 5.7km along the Broadway Corridor, one of the busiest bus routes in North America.

It will run from VCC-Clark Station to a new station at Arbutus Street. There will be a fully integrated interchange where the existing Canada Line will intersect.

From Arbutus Station, the 99 B-Line bus service will connect passengers to the University of British Columbia. The new line will consist of 700m of elevated track and proceed underground for 5km, with six stations below the Broadway Corridor.

Skytrain’s Expo, Millennium and Canada lines in Vancouver are already equipped with Thales SelTrac technology, along with other projects in Toronto, New York City, Dubai, Doha and Santiago.

Thales is contracted by the Broadway Subway Constructors General Partnership (BSCGP).

British Columbia selected BSCGP to complete the design and construction of the line, which will be operated and maintained by British Columbia Rapid Transit.

Construction of the Broadway Subway Project is expected to start before then end of this year and is scheduled for public opening in 2025.

“The Broadway Subway is a key project in the City of Vancouver’s Transportation 2040 strategic plan,” said Dominique Gaiardo, vice president and managing director for Thales’ urban rail signalling business.

“Thales will continue to build local expertise and contribute to the mass transit capacity expansion in Vancouver with the innovative SelTrac CBTC system."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Social media a one-stop shop for travel information
    January 20, 2012
    Exponentially widening mobile phone ownership is opening up the field to new ways of obtaining and disseminating better travel information from and to public transport users, via for example social media and tracking riders' phones. Over 50 US transit agencies, including major actors such as TriMet, in the metropolitan area of Portland, Oregon, Dallas Area Rapid Transit in Texas, and San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), as well as smaller operators, now have Facebook and/or Twitter accoun
  • Malaysia to invest billions in rail development
    September 12, 2013
    Malaysia plans to spend a staggering US$50 billion to develop its rail network over the next seven years, including a high-speed rail linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore set for 2020, and the urban mass rapid transit system that is rolling out in 2017. Compared to developed countries where rail transport makes up a third of public transportation, Malaysia's share is less than four per cent.
  • Thales to deliver AFC system for Bangkok’s Blue Line
    August 23, 2017
    Thales has been selected by the Bangkok Expressway Metro Public Company (BEM) and CH. Karnchang (CK) to deliver the automatic fare collection (AFC) system for the Bangkok metro's Blue Line Extension, utilising its TransCity ticketing solution. The Chaloem Ratchamongkhon MRT line, better known as the Blue Line, was the first of Bangkok's underground metro lines to open in 2004. Thales is the current supplier of the automatic fare collection system for the existing Blue Line, which now comprises 18 station
  • ADB approves grant for BRT in Karachi
    July 23, 2019
    The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $235 million loan to help develop a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Karachi, Pakistan. The project will deliver the 26km Bus Rapid Transit Line Red Line Corridor and associated facilities. More than 300,000 passengers per day are expected on the Red Line BRT routes. It will include the construction of 29 stations and dedicated lanes, a roadway with up to six lanes in each direction, on-street parking and green areas well as the installation of bicycl