Nanaimo is a partially elevated station on the Expo Line of

Metro Vancouver The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...

's SkyTrain

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...

system. The station is located on Nanaimo Street between Vanness Avenue and East 24th Avenue in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia, Canada. The station takes its name from Nanaimo Street, which is named after the city of

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

. Situated on a hillcrest, the station provides riders with a view of the west side and Downtown Vancouver.

History

Nanaimo station was opened in 1985 as part of the original SkyTrain system (now known as the Expo Line). The

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n architecture firm Architektengruppe U-Bahn was responsible for designing the station. The station is the westernmost station on the Expo Line that sits atop of the former Central Park Line of the

British Columbia Electric Railway The British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) was an historic railway which operated in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Originally the parent company for, and later a division of, BC Electric Company (now BC Hydro), the BCER assumed contro ...

. This line formerly ran just west of Nanaimo station to where

New Westminster station New Westminster is an elevated station on the Expo Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station is located at the intersection of Columbia Street and 8th Street in New Westminster, British Columbia. In 2012, the station w ...

is located today. In 2002,

Millennium Line The Millennium Line is the second line of the SkyTrain rapid transit system in the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada. The line is owned and operated by BC Rapid Transit Company, a subsidiary of TransLink, and links the cities ...

service was introduced to the station, which provided outbound service to

VCC–Clark station VCC–Clark is an elevated station on the Millennium Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station is named after the nearby Vancouver Community College (VCC) located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and serves as th ...

(originally

Commercial Drive Commercial Drive is a roadway in the city of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada that extends from Powell Street at its northern extremity, near the waterfront, south through the heart of the Grandview–Woodland neighbourhood to the Victori ...

) via Columbia station in New Westminster. This service was discontinued and replaced with an Expo Line branch to

Production Way–University station Production Way–University is an elevated station on the Expo and Millennium Lines of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station is located at the intersection of Lougheed Highway and Production Way in Burnaby, British Colum ...

in 2016. In the fourth quarter of 2018, TransLink was scheduled to begin a major upgrade of the station's bus exchange and entrance plaza to "improve safety and comfort for he station'spassengers and to prepare for future service expansions". Construction began on the expansion of the bus loop on January 4, 2019, and was scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2019. The completion date was later pushed back to early 2020. The bus loop was largely complete by July 9, 2020.

Station information

Station layout

Entrances

Nanaimo station is served by a single entrance located at the west end of that station. The entrance is accessible from Nanaimo Street, south of East 24th Avenue across the street from Vanness Avenue.

Transit connections

Bus bay assignments are as follows:

References