Richmond-Airport-Vancouver Line
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The Richmond-Airport-Vancouver Line ("RAV Line") is an approved new automated (driverless) light rapid transit line of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (TransLink). The line is the third in Greater Vancouver, Canada and will be added to the existing SkyTrain rapid transit system. The line will connect downtown Vancouver to the Vancouver International Airport and Richmond City Centre in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Governance of the project is through RAV Project Management (RAVCO), a subsidiary of TransLink.
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Timeline
- In 2003, ten companies or consortia submitted 'Expressions of Interest' in this project.
- In December 2003, this was short listed down to three who were given a 'Request for Proposal'. These three consortia were:
- RAVLink Transportation, which included Fluor Canada, Siemens AG Canada, MTR Corporation, and Balfour Beatty Capital Projects,
- RAVxpress, which included Bombardier, AMEC, Bouygues Travaux Publics, and Bilfinger Berger, and
- SNC-Lavalin/Serco, which included SNC-Lavalin and Serco.
- On June 30, 2004, after twice voting to cancel the project, the TransLink Board approved the RAV linem but maintained the right to cancel the project if none of the bids meet the approved budget of $1.35 billion.
- On November 19, 2004, RAVCO recommended that the SNC-Lavalin/Serco (now known collectively as InTransitBC) proposal for a fully automated, grade-separated system be accepted. This 'Best and Final Offer' bid was $343 million over the approved budget. The project was, however, brought to within the funding allowance, through various cost trimming measures, including design changes, the contractor agreeing to lower their bid, and the province contributing another $65 million.
- On December 1, 2004 the TransLink board gave final approval for the project.
- Construction is expected to begin in August 2005.
- The line is expected to be operational in November 2009, just in time for the 2010 Olympics
Project funding and management
RAVCO was set up by the agencies funding the transit line to oversee project design, procurement, construction and implementation. The budget comes from the following sources:
- Government of Canada: $450 million
- Government of British Columbia: $365 million
- Vancouver Airport Authority: $300 million
- TransLink: $400 million
The British Columbia government initially committed $300 million but when the project went over-budget, they contributed an extra $65 million, and TransLink committed an extra $100 million by selling some of its assets.
These sums are all in 1993 dollars, except for the Government of Canada's contribution which will be paid out when constructed, and is estimated to be equivalent of $419 million 1993 dollars. In addition, the line will be built as a private-public partnership where the private contractors will contribute a significant portion of the construction and operating costs in return for a share in the operating revenue of the line.
Route description
The Vancouver section of the line is projected to run underground from Waterfront Station, with cut-and-cover tunnels along Granville and Davie Streets, a bored tunnel under False Creek to the 2nd Avenue station on Cambie Street, where it will run as a cut-and-cover tunnel with the two directions on separate decks as far as 63rd Avenue.
From there, the line will be elevated, crossing the North Arm of the Fraser River via another bridge. At the proposed Bridgeport Station, the line would split, with the main line heading south on an elevated track along Number 3 Road to Richmond City Centre. A branch would connect Bridgeport Station to Vancouver International Airport, crossing the Middle Arm of the Fraser River via a bridge.
Stations
Stations are proposed to be built in two stages: up to seventeen stations would built for the line's projected opening prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics, with up to five additional stations being added after the line opened. The proposed stations are:
- Waterfront Station (connection to Expo and Millennium Lines, West Coast Express and SeaBus)
- Robson - Robson and Granville
- Davie/Yaletown - Near Davie and Homer
- 2nd Avenue - (Was to be a future station, but the City of Vancouver announced funding to have it included in initial project)
- Broadway
- King Edward
- 33rd Avenue (after 2010)
- 41st Avenue/Oakridge (41st Ave)
- 49th Avenue/Langara
- 57th Avenue (after 2010)
- Marine Drive
- Bridgeport (Major transit exchange for suburban busses)
At Bridgeport, the line will split, with airport-bound trains stopping at up to five as-yet-undetermined locations at Vancouver International Airport. Richmond-bound trains would continue to the following stations:
- Capstan Way (after 2010)
- Cambie
- Alderbridge
- Westminster (deferred on 30 June2004 to after 2010)
- Richmond Centre
Controversies
Many people believe that it would be more cost-effective to run the line down the rail corridor that already exists along Arbutus Street and is currently zoned for transit use. The transit planners, however, said that the Arbutus corridor does not have the major concentration of transit destinations and origins that exist along the Cambie Street corridor and are necessary to provide the ridership required for this project to be successful. In addition, the well-heeled residents along the Arbutus corridor were expected to raise strong opposition to any attempt to construct a rapid transit line through their neighbourhoods.
The use of street-level light rail trams would have been significantly cheaper than the proposed system, which requires grade separation (tunnels or elevated lines), but the City of Vancouver made it clear they would oppose any grade-level transit along the Cambie Street corridor. Also, the contributions by the national government and the airport authority were contingent on service times that such a system would not have been able to achieve.
It is claimed that the portion of the cost of this line that TransLink is covering will be at the expense of improving bus service in Greater Vancouver. As the funding is likely to be provided by property taxes collected from throughout the Lower Mainland, this would mean that many communities that would be most hurt by the funding crunch (such as the North Shore, which is served primarily by buses and ageing SeaBuses which need to be replaced) could end up paying for a disproportionate share. (The North Shore municipalities have the highest real estate prices in the Lower Mainland and therefore the highest property taxes).
Opponents of the RAV line's public-private partnership believe it was politically motivated and that it will cost more money because of the private involvement. The private involvement has, however, allowed for the costs to be known and largely fixed up-front.
Although the contract is supposed to ensure that no cost over-runs are passed on to TransLink and thus the public, there is a concern that it may somehow cost the public more in the future. The primary risk to TransLink is that it is required to guarantee 90% of projected ridership and to make up the shortfall in revenue if this is not achieved. The other potential risk would be if TransLink were to cause delays in the project by not meeting their responsibilities; they might be required to pay the costs for these delays and to ensure that the project is completed in time.
Another controversy arose after the contract was awarded. The submission to the environmental review committee proposed a cut-and-cover tunnel along Cambie Street, rather than the bored tunnel that had been previously discussed in public. Business owners along Cambie Street feel that digging up the street to build this tunnel would significantly affect traffic and force many smaller companies to close. The contractor maintains cut-and-cover will be cheaper, with less construction uncertainty, and that the stations will now be much closer to the surface and therefore more accessible.
Possible names
Though at present the new line is almost universally referred to as the 'RAV line', this name is not official. Many believe that when it enters into service, it should be given a less prosaic official name, much like those of the Expo Line and the Millennium Line.
Possible names include:
- Olympic Line: While not officially tied to the 2010 Olympics, the line would not be built this early had Vancouver not secured the winter games. This line was once included as part of the city's bid, connecting the airport and media centre in Richmond to most of the venues and Olympic Village in Downtown Vancouver. This would also fit with the other lines being named after events that occurred around the time of completion (Expo 86 and the Year 2000).
- Canada Line: Similar to the rationale behind the Olympic Line's naming, because the federal government of Canada pitched in a large portion of money for the project which would have not happened nearly as soon, otherwise.
- RAV Line: Who said anything about being original? The Richmond-Airport-Vancouver line is uncreative but it is easy to remember...that is, of course, until the line is extended southwards into Ladner and Tsawwassen decades from now.
External links
- Richmond-Airport-Vancouver Rapid Transit (http://www.ravprapidtransit.com/) - RAVCO, the Project Management's site for the proposed "RAV Line"
- TransLink (http://www.translink.bc.ca/) - The regional transportation authority of the Greater Vancouver Regional District.
- Do RAV Right (http://www.doravright.ca/) - A coalition of businesses affected by the proposal for a cut and cover tunnel along Cambie Street.