Metrotown Skytrain Station Renovation

Adjacent to the region’s largest shopping mall, the Metrotown SkyTrain Station was built as part of the original 1986 Expo Line. As the community grew, the station had insufficient capacity, lacked accessible paths to the station and overall, seemed disconnected from its surrounding neighbourhood. It became crucial to address these challenges and provide added features for security and comfort.

The station is typical Expo Line construction: an elevated centre platform with stairs and escalators at its east end. Sixty metres of the platform is enclosed, with the remaining 20m left exposed. An elevator core separates these two areas. The station is connected to Metrotown Mall and an at-grade bus loop by a 35m passerelle, which is the station’s primary access point.

In light of these constraints, a number of potential solutions were assessed in planning, including renovations, redevelopments and relocations. Fast + Epp was brought on board to design a novel “loop truss” as a contemporary interpretation to the existing station hoop trusses. This truss allows for a 60m expansion at the east and west ends of the station and adds a new central fare gate entry area.