I started the 2010 transit infrastructure year as one the first passengers on the first public ride for the first modern streetcar in Vancouver. Adding to my worthless, but valued, collection of “first rides” certificates, it’s been quite an exciting few months for Vancouver. Unfortunately with this Streetcar, it is temporary, with the last ride on March 21st, 12:29AM (really March 22nd actually) departing Olympic Village Station back to Brussels.
Yes, these narrow caterpillars are from STIB, the transportation authority in Brussels, Belgium. After the many political speeches, the train finally began boarding at 10:20. Upon boarding the train, one notices the difference in terms of aesthetics and quality than compared to Vancouver transit vehicles. Ceilings, with wooden panels and gray meshes, have bright, yet soothing, lighting. At 2.3 metres wide, the trains are incredibly narrow, only fitting three seats plus a centre aisle. In Brussles, if the trains were any wider, they would literally scrape the buildings.
Features that aren’t seen on our transit vehicles include LCD monitors, indicating important transit information. Oddly enough, the screens did not display any English, but instead, “Welcome onboard” in French and German. Next to the screen are back-lit arrows, which indicate which doors open at the next stop.
Arriving at Olympic Village Station to lineup for the Olympic Line, the City of Vancouver and Bombardier set up a large temporary tent for the lineup. Fortunately, mother nature cooperated. At the lineup, I found Jhenifer of TransLink, and we had a great discussion about a wide variety of topics related to Vancouver. Great discussion as I learned quite a bit about TransLink.
Take a look at my entire gallery on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46784044@N02/sets/72157623135136267/
