The Broadway Subway is making significant strides in its development, with the first test train now rolling on the tracks for active testing ahead of its late 2027 opening. This 0.7-km-long segment of the new elevated guideway, built through the False Creek Flats, is a crucial part of the 5.7-km-long Millennium Line Broadway extension to Arbutus Street. The project, commonly referred to as a subway, has been a subject of less attention to the elevated guideway segment, which spans from the eastern starting point just west of the existing VCC-Clark Station to the tunnel portal just east of the new Great Northern Way-Emily Carr Station.
The initial dynamic testing phase is underway, allowing crews to determine whether the trains, tracks, signals, and communications systems are working together safely. During this phase, drivers operate the trains before testing transitions to fully automated train control in later stages. Trains also operate at different speeds in both directions on the same track.
Various testing procedures will ensure that the trains have adequate clearance, are correctly positioned, and that the signalling systems are functioning properly. As more testing milestones are completed, the process will also trial how multiple trains operate on the tracks simultaneously.
The test train is currently running along a span of about two km of track, including both westbound and eastbound segments. Testing will incrementally expand along more of the route as additional segments of the track reach completion.
The project office has confirmed that the westbound track segment between VCC-Clark Station and Broadway-City Hall and the eastbound track segment between VCC-Clark Station and the tunnel portal have achieved full completion of all track components. The westbound segment between Broadway-City Hall Station and Arbutus Station has seen both of its running rails and lim rails reach completion, while only the running rails have been installed on the eastbound segment between the tunnel portal and Arbutus Station.
The construction process has progressed to the removal of the temporary traffic decks installed over the five subway station construction sites beneath Broadway, the installation of new utilities, the backfilling of the volume between the subway station structure roofs and the ground level with thousands of cubic metres of gravel, and the restoration of the roadway above the subway stations to the permanent configuration of four vehicle lanes — two in each direction — along with widened pedestrian sidewalks.
The provincial government has confirmed that the only other necessary prolonged full Broadway roadway closure and detour is for Broadway-City Hall Station, which will take six months beginning after the FIFA World Cup. For the remaining four subway stations on Broadway, the traffic deck removal and roadway restoration work will be accomplished with lane reductions only — no full closures required.
The project also includes the installation of the electrical and mechanical systems necessary for not only the subway stations but also to power the trains and initiate testing. Some giant tunnel ventilation fans were also seen being prepared for transport for installation inside the tunnel.
The construction is also progressing on the stations, with clear progress on the station entrance building structures and the installation of the first interior furnishings, such as the first drop ceiling panels for the platform level at Mount Pleasant Station.
The project is expected to open late in the fall of 2027, with the extension having the capacity to move over three times as many people as the current 99 B-Line. The provincial government is continuing the business case planning work for the future westward extension of the Millennium Line from Arbutus Station to the University of British Columbia campus, with TransLink's timeline to begin implementing this extension in the early 2030s.
