Main Street–Science World station

Main Street–Science World
SkyTrain station
Mark II SkyTrain ready to leave westbound, July 2006
Location	1399 Main Street, Vancouver
Coordinates	49°16′23″N 123°06′01″W / 49.273114°N 123.100348°W / 49.273114; -123.100348Coordinates: 49°16′23″N 123°06′01″W / 49.273114°N 123.100348°W / 49.273114; -123.100348
Owned by	BC Transit, TransLink
Platforms	Centre platform
Tracks	2
Connections	Pacific Central
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	MN
Fare zone	1
History
Opened	December 11, 1985
Rebuilt	2013–15
Previous names	Main Street station (1985–1990)
Traffic
Passengers (2011[1])	25,657
Services
Preceding station   TransLink   Following station Stadium–Chinatown toward Waterfront Expo Line Surrey Commercial–Broadway toward King George Expo Line Lougheed Commercial–Broadway toward Production Way–University

A Mark I SkyTrain leaving at Main Street-Science World station westbound

Main Street–Science World (formerly Main Street) is an elevated station on the Expo Line of the SkyTrain system in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The station is accessible from both sides of Main Street at the intersection of Main Street and Terminal Avenue, and is adjacent to Pacific Central station, the city's inter-city railway and bus terminal.

History

Prior to SkyTrain opening for full revenue service, the station served as the western terminus of a short 1 km demonstration track during the summer of 1983. A single two-car prototype train ran both eastbound and westbound on the current westbound track, between the station and what was at that time the end of the completed guideway, at the eastern end of the centre median of Terminal Avenue.

In December 1985, SkyTrain began revenue service with the station opening as "Main Street" and was one of two stations that served the Expo 86 site: the other being Stadium–Chinatown station. This station served as an access point to the East Gate of Expo. This was the first elevated SkyTrain station to have buildings built around and above it, as witnessed by the Vancity tower on the west side of the station.

Once Expo 86 had ended, many of its buildings had either been torn down or removed. One of the few to remain was the nearby geodesic dome, known during the fair as "Expo Centre". Now one of the city's most recognizable landmarks, a science museum known as Science World moved into this space. On September 21, 1990, the station's name was hyphenated adding "Science World", due to its proximity to the then-newly popular landmark attraction one block away. Original maps designated the station as "Science World-Main Street".

With the station remaining the oldest on the Expo Line, plans to re-design as well as lengthen the 27-year-old structure are currently underway. Construction began in early 2013 and is expected to last until Summer 2015, resulting in a complete re-construction of the station and improved access, safety, lighting and the installation of FareGates as part of the larger Compass smart-card system.^[2][3]

Services

• The Main Street–Science World station is a major connection point for the TransLink Main Street trolley bus routes, as well as for the Via Rail and Amtrak trains that arrive and depart from the nearby Pacific Central station
• The eastern terminus of the defunct Downtown Historic Railway is located near this station; that line's streetcars ran westbound along the south side of False Creek to Granville Island.
• The eastern terminus of both False Creek Ferries and the Aquabus can also be found nearby just south of Science World.
• The station is within walking distance of four fast food chains including Starbucks, McDonald's and Tim Hortons. Prior to the opening of Starbucks, the same space was occupied by the "The Exchange"—a small newspaper/snack outlet that opened in 1986 as part of a retail programme initially set up with the introduction of SkyTrain.

Station information

Station layout

Entrances

• West Entrance is located at west end of Main Street, serving to Science World and the False Creek ferries. Up and down escalators are available between street and platform levels as well as an elevator.
• East Entrance located on the east side of Main Street, beside Thornton Park and with close proximity to Pacific Central Station for long-distance rail and bus services. There is a station house including an elevator and up escalator access from street to platform level.

Transit connections

• Transit connections includes local bus routes travelling southbound on Main Street, near the west entrance:^[4]

3 Main

8 Fraser

19 Metrotown Station

N8 Fraser NightBus

N19 Surrey Central Station NightBus

• One block north of the station on Main St, southbound near National Avenue:

3 Main

8 Fraser

19 Metrotown Station

22 Knight (AM peak hours only)

N8 Fraser NightBus

N19 Surrey Central Station NightBus

• Community shuttle service from the C23 Davie is also available northbound on Station Street beside Pacific Central station, one block away from the east station entrance. The C23 also stops southbound on Quebec Street, one block away from the west station entrance beside Science World.
• The east entrance serves local bus routes travelling northbound on Main Street:

3 Downtown

8 Downtown

19 Stanley Park

22 Downtown

N8 Downtown NightBus

N19 Downtown NightBus

References

External links

Media related to Main Street-Science World Station at Wikimedia Commons