Photo TransLink
The Seymour Street entrance to Granville Station will be closed for up to two years starting May 26 as TransLink works on replacing six ageing escalators.
“Our SkyTrain system is more than 30 years old and the time has come to make significant investments in our infrastructure to ensure we can keep moving our customers safely and reliably, says TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond in a release.
The Granville station work is expected to cost of $14.5 million with funding coming from the federal and provincial governments.
Vancouver's longest set of escalators are 32-years-old and carry 30,000 people per day servicing the third-busiest station in the transit system. The transit operator says the confined location requires that the 35 metre-long escalators be built piece by piece on site.
Commuters will be able to access the station through the Dunsmuir Street entrance and additional fare gates have been added to accommodate the increased traffic. Signage and extra staff have been added to direct and help customers. The closure comes just days after TransLink's "Tap to Pay"option goes live on May 22, which allows customers to pay at the fare gate using credit cards and digital wallets.
"We know this will inconvenience people in the short term, but we thank our customers for their patience while we complete this important work,” says Desmond.
Translink says Granville station is the first of 13 SkyTrain and select West Coast Express stations which will see the replacement of 37 escalators through the Expo Line Escalator Replacement Project.
Improvements to the other 12 stations is expected to start in 2019.
