SkyTrain's Broadway Hub Rises: New Interchange Takes Shape

For the first time since the Canada Line opened in 2009, crews are breaking through concrete to expand station platforms. At Broadway-City Hall Station, both platforms are being extended from 40 to 50 metres — a project that reveals just how forward-thinking the original designers were.

When the line launched, most stations were built with hidden void spaces behind their end walls, anticipating a future that's now arriving. That future is the Millennium Line extension to Arbutus, opening Fall 2027, which will transform this modest commuter stop into one of the network's busiest interchanges.

The work involves removing concealed walls at the northern ends of both platforms, exposing unfinished concrete ready to be finished. New underground pathways — with escalators, staircases, and elevators — are being punched through existing walls to create seamless transfers between Canada Line and Millennium Line levels. The entry points will sit next to the bottom of existing escalators, keeping pedestrian flow intuitive.

What does this mean for your commute? When the extension opens, you'll be able to transfer directly underground from the Canada Line to a new route straight downtown, finally breaking the Expo Line's stranglehold on Downtown access. Travel time from Commercial-Broadway to Arbutus will be roughly 12 minutes; from there, a bus shuttle will cover the remaining distance to UBC until the Millennium Line eventually extends further west.

TransLink data shows Broadway-City Hall already handles 3.5 million annual boardings — the 16th busiest station in the network. That number's about to climb sharply. Meanwhile, the long-delayed Oakridge Park mall opens May 28, bringing a major foot-traffic generator back to the Cambie Corridor just as these platform upgrades take shape. The timing is tight, but the vision is clear: this corner of the city is being wired for the next phase of growth.