Stadium–Chinatown station

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, Canada, at the eastern entrance of the Dunsmuir Tunnel. It is one of four stations on the Expo Line that serve Downtown Vancouver.

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
Owned by	TransLink
Platforms	Centre platform Side platform (spare)
Tracks	3
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Disabled access	Yes
Architect	Architektengruppe U-Bahn
Other information
Station code	ST
Fare zone	1
History
Opened	December 11, 1985
Previous names	Stadium (1985–2004)
Traffic
Passengers (2019[1])	5,622,000  1.2%
Rank	7 of 53
Services
Preceding station   TransLink   Following station Granville toward Waterfront Expo Line Main Street–Science World toward King George or Production Way–University

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

Opened as "Stadium" in 1985 as part of the original SkyTrain system (now known as the Expo Line), the station was designed by Austrian architecture firm Architektengruppe U-Bahn.[2][3] The station's original name was based on its proximity to BC Place Stadium. 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, because local merchants and politicians wished to promote the historical and cultural significance of Vancouver's Chinatown district, located just one block away from the station.[4]

During the Expo 86 World's Fair, the station served as a transfer point between the main site of the fair and the Canadian Pavilion (now Canada Place), located on Burrard Inlet at Waterfront station. Transferring between these two stations was free for fair attendees during the 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 its automated driverless technology operated. The third platform and track were taken out of revenue use once Expo 86 ended and are rarely used except in cases of extreme crowds from hockey games and concerts. The third platform and track are primarily used for training purposes, train storage, special event service, and rerouting during rail replacement.[5][6]

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 has been occupied by TransLink's Lost Property Office since 1991.[7] 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 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 in 1989 as the second access point to and from the station.

Services

The Beatty Street entrance is often used by those attending events at BC Place.

Important destinations near the station include 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 are located a few blocks away from the station.

Chinatown is located northeast of the intersection of Taylor and Keefer. The station entrance closest to Chinatown is labelled with traditional Chinese characters in addition to English. The sign reads: "Stadium–Chinatown Station 體育館／華埠（唐人街）". This makes Stadium–Chinatown the only station on the system to be officially labelled 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 near the station at the intersection of Abbott and Keefer.

Station information

Station layout

S	Street level (west)	Beatty Street entrance Compass vending machines and fare gates (Beatty)
C	Concourse Level	Keefer Place entrance, lost property office Compass vending machines and 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 vending machines and fare gates (Expo)

Entrances

• Beatty Street entrance is a fully accessible entrance at the west end of the platforms, serving BC Place and the downtown area. An elevator connects the upper street, concourse, train, and restricted levels. TransLink's Compass Customer Service Centre can be accessed from this entrance.
• Keefer Place entrance is located on the concourse level shared with the Beatty entrance, beside the Lost Property Office. It is the closest entrance serving the Chinatown area.
• Expo Boulevard entrance is located at the east end of the platforms, serving Rogers Arena. No elevator and escalator access is available from this entrance; however, wheelchair access to the platform can be made using the elevators of a nearby residential development via a circuitous routing.[8] There is no access to platform 3.

Transit connections

See also: List of bus routes in Metro Vancouver

• 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 Lynn Valley
  • 241 Upper Lonsdale (peak only)
  • 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 operate 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. "2019 Transit Service Performance Review – SkyTrain Stations Ranked by Annual Boardings" (PDF). translink.ca. TransLink. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
2. Pabillano, Jhenifer (February 21, 2011). "1982 SkyTrain station concept drawings!". The Buzzer Blog. TransLink. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
3. "U-Bahn Vancouver". Architektengruppe U-Bahn. Archived from the original on April 28, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
4. "Stadium SkyTrain station renamed" (PDF). The Buzzer. TransLink. October 15, 2004. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
5. "Why is there a third platform at Stadium–Chinatown Station?". Buzzer Blog. July 5, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
6. Chan, Kenneth (May 21, 2019). "Third platform at SkyTrain's Stadium-Chinatown Station to open for shuttle train". Daily Hive. Archived from the original on May 22, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
7. "BC Transit Lost Property Office moving to Stadium Station" (PDF). The Buzzer. BC Transit. May 24, 1991. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
8. "Expo Line Station Review". TransLink. Retrieved July 5, 2017.