Thales, a French electrical systems manufacturer, has been awarded two contracts by TransLink, the transport network for Metro Vancouver, to provide automatic train control (ATC) technology for its new operations control centre and fully-automated depot.
The new facilities are part of the Expo and Millennium Line Upgrade Program, which intends to support the expansion of SkyTrain, a fully automated rapid transit system, and to improve current services.
The two organisations have been in partnership for almost 40 years, spanning the entire history of SkyTrain.
TransLink plans to extend the system from 80km (49.7 miles) to 106km (65.8 miles) by 2028, with the expected addition of 41 new trains by the end of 2027.
Thales’ train control tech is part of TransLink’s 2050 vision to deliver safe and reliable zero-carbon transport across Metro Vancouver and apparently oversaw 114 million boardings in 2019.
According to TransLink, SkyTrain’s Expo and Millennium lines saw on-time performance (OTP) of 96.38% in 2018, which is both its personal record and higher than the average OTP of most major metro services in North America.
TransLink claims that SkyTrain customers collectively saved 1.3 million kg of GHGs by choosing the service over private diesel or petrol cars.
“We are building on an over 35-year partnership with TransLink as we support their vision for the future of transit in Metro Vancouver.
“The provision of our SelTrac technology to these two new facilities represents the next page in our shared history with TransLink,” said Alcino De Sousa, VP and managing director, Thales Urban Rail Signalling.
Thales will provide the ATC elements for the new operations control centre, which TransLink claims will house the latest in train control, network and cybersecurity technology. Thales plans to work with local partners and suppliers to complete the project.
With ridership reportedly growing, SkyTrain has attempted to deliver more trains and to accommodate increased services with improved storage and maintenance.
Further capacity will be available in the new fully-automated operations maintenance centre (OMC4). According to Thales, OMC4 is designed to quickly deploy trains in a cost-effective manner and will offer storage space for 29 vehicles, interior cleaning and inspection, a train wash track and maintenance shops.
Thales provided OMC1 in 1986, which was reportedly the world’s first fully-automated train storage yard.
