Massive Vancouver SkyTrain station upgrade downsized to escalator replacement

The corner of Burrard and Melville Street in downtown Vancouver is seen in this undated Google Maps image.

A massive upgrade to a downtown Vancouver SkyTrain station that would've led to two years' worth of closures has been downsized significantly.

TransLink gave an update on its plans for the Burrard SkyTrain Station last week, announcing five aging escalators will be replaced. The project's expected to wrap up in spring 2024 and TransLink says operations will continue normally at the station.

The construction plan is a far cry from the project's initial scope that was announced in July 2021. At the time, TransLink said the station would get "a major upgrade," including doubling the number of escalators and elevators, relocating the entrance, redesigning the outdoor plaza and upgrading the station's power supply. 

The station was expected to be closed for two years while construction was completed. The transit authority explained closing the station would help minimize confusion for customer travel patterns during construction, reduce overall construction time and save as much as $35 million.

But in March of this year, TransLink reconsidered the whole project due to "higher than anticipated construction bid process." 

Replacement of the escalators will begin on Monday and will feature LED step lighting and a variable speed option to save power.

TransLink says Burrard Station is the fourth busiest on the SkyTrain system, with more than 12,000 weekday boardings on average. The station was originally built in 1985 and the escalators in use today are the originals.