Vancouver Olympic Line First Day Experience

The Vancouver “Olympic Line” started running today on Thursday January 21, 2010. Since I got a day-off, I decided to hop-on before it’s taken over by tourists.

The Olympic Line in Vancouver is shorter than I expected. The ride takes less than 5 minutes over the 1.8 km track. As a demonstration project, the vehicles run only from Granville Island to the Olympic Village Station. The two Bombardier “modern streetcars” run on the historic railway. Personally, I wouldn’t call the vehicle a “streetcar” since it runs on good-old-fashioned rail road, but it is “modern” alright. The vehicle is not wider than a regular bus, but its interior is certainly nicer than its on-road counterparts.

For selfish reasons (living few blocks away from Granville Island, and my fascination with things running on tracks) I really hope the city would expand the line to cover Downtown areas. Streetcars allow you to see the city, not just getting from point A to point B. The being said, the potentials of streetcars are not fully developed in the demonstration project because it covers mostly residential areas. I believe streetcars can benefit smaller local businesses and give residents opportunities to explore the city.

The Olympic Line will run until March 21. It runs 18 hours a day, starting at 6:30 a.m. to midnight at 12:30 a.m.

Oh, did I mention it’s free?

Olympic Line in motion video: