Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 51, 2006

The SkyTrain in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is an Advanced Rapid Transit system operating fully automated trains on two lines, the Expo Line and the Millennium Line. The system is mainly elevated (hence its name). It has no human drivers on board and has not derailed or collided as a result. With 33 stations, it moves over 220,000 people a day along the 49.5 km (30.8 mi) of track. Built for the Expo 86 World's Fair, it has since become the world's longest automated light rapid transit system utilizing the world's longest transit-only bridge, the SkyBridge. The system uses the same family of linear induction motor-driven trains as the Scarborough RT line in Toronto, the Putra LRT in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Detroit People Mover in Detroit, and the JFK AirTrain in New York City. SkyTrain cars reach speeds of 90 km/h (56 mph). When including wait times at stops, the end-to-end speed is 35 km/h (22 mph), three times faster than a bus and almost twice as fast as a B-Line express bus. SkyTrain operates on a proof-of-payment fare system and is policed by the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Police Service. Passengers are subject to random fare inspections and those caught without valid fare are subject to a $173 fine. TransLink believes it loses about $6 million in unpaid fares.

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