By Derrick Penner, Vancouver Sun
The City of Vancouver will spend $8 million for a 60-day demonstration of a streetcar service to connect Granville Island and the Canada Line rapid transit station at Cambie Street during the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics.
Mayor Sam Sullivan unveiled plans for what is being dubbed the Olympic Line, with International Olympic Committee approval, Tuesday with hopes that the test will lead to establishment of the long-sought permanent streetcar network that would loop around to serve all of downtown to Stanley Park.
The city’s $8 million will pay to upgrade 1.8 kilometres of existing rail track. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., which operates Granville Island, will put $500,000 into the project, Sullivan said.
Canadian transportation giant Bombardier will provide two of its 150-passenger streetcar units, on loan from the Brussels Transport Company, and operate the system under a sponsorship arrangement.
The city hopes to make the initial demonstration a free service, but Sullivan said city officials are still in discussions with TransLink about the possibility of integrating the demonstration project into regular transit services.
