Canada Line Rapid Transit

A welcoming look at the cityThereÔÇÖs a new rapid transit line coming to ease the congestion of traveling between Vancouver, Richmond and the international airport that serves them, Jane Bird explains to Gary Toushek. The transportation corridor between downtown Vancouver (British Columbia) in the north and downtown Richmond to the south is one of the most congested in the Greater Vancouver area, in both directions.┬áWith its dense neighborhoods, the area encompasses one-third of the regionÔÇÖs jobs and 20 percent of its population. As in other major metropolitan cities in North America, based on predictions of more population, increasing congestion and escalating fuel costs for passenger vehicles, discussions and plans for improving commuter transit have been ongoing for years. In fact, VancouverÔÇÖs city council began contemplating the idea of rapid transit lines connecting Vancouver and southern suburbs in 1967, CanadaÔÇÖs centennial year.It took until 2001 to finally launch the plan for the Canada Line, a $2 billion, 19-kilometer (11.8-mile) corridor connecting downtown Vancouver with Richmond and Vancouver International Airport, which is on an island. Construction began in 2005, and completion is slated for autumn 2009. The project is currently the largest transit construction project in North America and the largest in the history of British Columbia. Canada Line Rapid Transit Inc. (CLCO) is an independently governed, wholly owned subsidiary of TransLink (the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority) and was created specifically to oversee the procurement, design, construction and implementation of the line. InTransitBC (ITBC), a joint-venture company owned by SNC-Lavalin (a global engineering firm based in Montreal), the Investment Management Corporation of BC, and the Caisse de D├®p├┤t et Placement du Qu├®bec (the Quebec Deposit and Investment Fund, which manages public pension plans), has been contracted to design, build, partially finance, operate and maintain the line for a 35-year period. The construction of the line is being funded by ITBC, the governments of Canada and British Columbia, TransLink, and Vancouver Airport Authority; the City of Vancouver is contributing a smaller amount. When the 35-year contract ends, the line will be owned by TransLink, who will have the option of operating and maintaining it, or entering into another contract for those services. Canada LineÔÇÖs financial model has been recognized internationally, as the project was named ÔÇ£North American Infrastructure Project of the YearÔÇØ for 2005 by Finance Projects International.The project is designed as a private-public partnership, a concept that has been used more often in the UK and Australia than in the US and Canada. The contract for the project assigns risk to the company best able to manage that risk. It provides for the transfer of most of the risk related to the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the line over the 35-year period to ITBC. During the operating period, revenue risk is assumed by TransLink, because it controls fares, bus service and marketing, all of which affect the number of passengers. ÔÇ£I think weÔÇÖve achieved the correct risk transfer, which limits the possibility of cost overruns to the government,ÔÇØ says Jane Bird, CEO of CLCO. ÔÇ£And the contractor has done a good job of managing that risk. WeÔÇÖre comfortable saying that weÔÇÖre on budget at this point. CLCO was responsible for acquiring property along the line, since it involves expropriation, a regulatory tool of government; we were successful in acquiring about $200 million of property along the corridor.ÔÇØ┬á The heavy civil construction is nearly complete, including 16 passenger stations that are integrated where possible into the adjacent businesses. ItÔÇÖs worth noting that a Business Liaison Program was established by CLCO; they communicated with and funded groups of representatives from corridor businesses. The northern half of the line is tunnel; the southern half is elevated as it crosses over the Fraser River into Richmond and continues elevated to Sea Island and the airport. The first trains are now being tested on the airport line.┬á Bird has been CEO of CLCO since the planning stages of the Canada Line. A lawyer, she practiced in the private sector for 12 years and took a leave from her partnership to work with the City of Vancouver when it was negotiating a previous transit expansion. Consequently, she was asked to look at the feasibility of a north-south rapid transit corridor. The sponsoring governments and the Airport were impressed with her recommendations, and she was hired as CEO.According to Bird, the most important aspect of the construction phase is making safety a priority. ÔÇ£At one point we had about 1,800 people working on the project. Now we have about 1,000, since the major construction is nearly complete; we have to make sure those people are safe. And when youÔÇÖre doing a project this size in a major city, you have to make sure the residents, pedestrians and vehicles near the site are safe as well.ÔÇØ Another major concern is being on time and on budget; they are on budget, running slightly ahead of schedule at the moment, even though thereÔÇÖs a year to go until completion. ÔÇ£Right now weÔÇÖre doing a complicated piece of work at our northern terminus, as we interface with the Canadian Pacific heritage building, where the old train station is the transportation hub of downtown Vancouver.ÔÇØ The secret to this game is anticipating problems and solving them before you get there. So she and her team spend a fair amount of time planning ahead and anticipating potential problems before they occur, and providing public oversight for the construction work. ÔÇ£Overall, weÔÇÖre very pleased with our partnership with our contractor ITBC and the status of the project at this point,ÔÇØ Bird says. ÔÇ£When I look at the airport station and the Canada Line connection into the new link building that connects the international and domestic terminals, which I think is particularly elegant, I give full credit to our Airport partners. ItÔÇÖs a great welcome to Vancouver. After all, the line is elevated, so youÔÇÖre sitting on the train going over Sea Island, with the mountains on your left, over the Arthur Laing Bridge, under the Oak Street Bridge, and across the Fraser River. Add the sunset, planes landing, and tugboats on the river, and it will be an impressive trip.ÔÇØ ┬á