Stadium–Chinatown station

Stadium–Chinatown
體育館／華埠（唐人街）
SkyTrain station
Track and platform configuration at the station (left to right): Spare platform, outbound platform, inbound platform
Location 590 Beatty Street, Vancouver
Coordinates 49°16′46″N 123°6′34″W / 49.27944°N 123.10944°W / 49.27944; -123.10944Coordinates: 49°16′46″N 123°6′34″W / 49.27944°N 123.10944°W / 49.27944; -123.10944
Owned by TransLink
Platforms Centre platform
Side platform (spare)
Tracks 3
Construction
Structure type Elevated
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Station code ST
Fare zone 1
History
Opened December 11, 1985
Previous names Stadium (1985–2004)
Traffic
Passengers (2017[1]) 16,200
Services
Preceding station   TransLink   Following station
toward Waterfront
Expo Line

Stadium–Chinatown (formerly Stadium) is an elevated station on the Expo Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station is located in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the eastern entrance of the Dunsmuir Tunnel. It is one of four stations on the Expo Line that serve Downtown Vancouver.

As its name implies, the station is located near both the Stadium District and Chinatown. TransLink's Compass Customer Service Centre and lost property office are located at this station.

History

Station signage using both English and traditional Chinese

Stadium station, built in 1985, was named such due to its proximity to BC Place Stadium (opened in 1983). Both the station and the stadium were vital to Vancouver's Expo 86. The "Chinatown" portion of the station's name was added in 2004, after Vancouver City Council felt it would increase tourism to the area and increase awareness to visitors about Vancouver's ever-expanding Chinatown district, just one block away.

During Expo 86, the station served as a transfer point between the main site of the World's Fair and the Canadian Pavilion (now Canada Place), located on Burrard Inlet at Waterfront station. Transferring between these two stations was free to fair attendees during the World's Fair using special shuttle trains which ran from a third platform at Stadium station (where there was a connection to the monorail serving the main Expo 86 site) to the Canadian Pavilion at Waterfront station. An automated announcement was aired during people's shuttle ride explaining how SkyTrain and automated driverless technology operated. The third platform and track was shut out of revenue use after Expo 86, although in rare cases of extreme crowds from hockey games and concerts, the third-platform may be used. This third platform and track is primarily used for training purposes, train storage, special event service, and rerouting during rail replacement.[2]

The station was originally constructed with a passageway under Beatty Street to the west in anticipation of future development. When the Amec Building built across Beatty Street did not link to the underground passage, the passage was closed and is currently occupied by the Lost Property Office. The staircase on the west side of Beatty was filled with sand and topped with a concrete sidewalk, so that the passage could be reopened in the future.

Until 1988, the Expo Boulevard/Abbott Street entrance was originally just an open-stair emergency exit. However, with the closing of the entrance tunnel under Beatty Street as well as poor accessibility to Stadium station from False Creek, the emergency exit was redesigned and enclosed, opening up in 1989 as the second point of entrance/exit point to and from the station.

Services

Beatty Street entrance; often used by those attending events at BC Place

The most important destinations near the station are Rogers Arena and BC Place Stadium, where home games of the Vancouver Canucks, BC Lions, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC are played and other major events are held. Following an event at BC Place or Rogers Arena, the passenger volumes are sufficiently large that it is feasible to post TransLink personnel to collect and check fares at this station, in contrast to the proof-of-payment system that was in force prior to the roll out of the Compass Card.

The Queen Elizabeth Theatre as well as the downtown location of Vancouver Community College is located a few blocks away from the station.

Chinatown is located north east of the intersection of Taylor and Keefer. The station entrance closest to Chinatown is marked by traditional Chinese characters in addition to English. The sign reads: "Stadium - Chinatown 體育館／華埠（唐人街）". This makes the station the only station on the system to be officially marked in Chinese. The International Village shopping centre (colloquially called "Tinseltown" after the movie theatre on the third floor) and the Chinatown location of T & T Supermarket are located at the intersection of Abbott and Keefer.

Station information

Station layout

S Street Level (West) Beatty Street entrance
Compass ticketing machines, fare gates (Beatty)
C Concourse Level Keefer Place entrance, lost property office
Compass ticketing machines, fare gates (Keefer), shop
T Platform 1
Inbound		 ← ■ Expo Line towards Waterfront (Granville)
Island platform; doors will open on the left
Platform 2
Outbound		  ■ Expo Line towards King George and Production Way–University (Main Street–Science World) →
Platform 3 No regular service – Train siding
Side platform; not in service
X   Restricted area
S Street Level (East) Expo Boulevard entrance
Compass ticketing machines, fare gates (Expo)

Entrances

  • Beatty Street Entrance is a fully accessible entrance at the west end of the platform, serving BC Place and the downtown area. An elevator connects the upper street, concourse, train, and restricted levels. There is no ticket vending machine at street level, so passenger without a valid transfer is required to get off the elevator at concourse to purchase a ticket.[3] TransLink's lost property office can be accessed from this entrance.
  • Keefer Place Entrance is located at the concourse level shared with Beatty entrance, beside the lost property office. It is the closest entrance serving the Chinatown area.
  • Expo Boulevard Entrance is located on the east end of the platform, serving Rogers Arena. No elevator and escalator access is available from this entrance; however, wheelchair access to platform can be made using elevator from nearby development via a circuitous routing.[3] There is no access to platform 3.

Transit connections

  • Local and suburban bus stops are located near the intersection of Hamilton Street and Dunsmuir Street, two blocks west from the Beatty Street entrance:
5 Robson
6 Davie
17 Oak
240 15th Street
241 Upper Lonsdale (peak only)
242 Lynn Valley (limited service)
246 Highland
247 Upper Capilano (peak only)
257 Horseshoe Bay (express)
N15 Cambie Night Bus
N24 Lynn Valley Night Bus
  • In addition, local community shuttles serving the north False Creek area operates on Expo Boulevard and Abbott Street, on the east side of the station near the Expo Boulevard entrance:
23 Beach
23 Main Street Station

References

  1. ↑ "2017 Transit Service Performance Review" (PDF). translink.ca. TransLink. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Why is there a third platform at Stadium–Chinatown Station?". Buzzer Blog. July 5, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Expo Line Station Review". Retrieved July 5, 2017.

Media related to Stadium-Chinatown Station at Wikimedia Commons

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