Carpet on the WCE
I’ve always wanted to board a West Coast Express train ever since I found out that Vancouver had a commuter railway. But only having five trains a day in each direction made it hard to catch, especially when I lived in Vancouver instead of out east. So one day, I was determined to get one of the afternoon trains and make it back in time for dinner. The Evergreen extension to Coquitlam and Port Moody was just built last year so that made a it a lot easier to find a way back to Vancouver in the afternoon. If you get on the train a little earlier, do sit facing north as the views of Burrard Inlet are too good to miss.
The train’s got the ride of a Cadillac, that is, it feels like a boat on waves. The train cars float on top of the bogies as if they have nothing to do with the tracks. Passengers who usually experience motion sickness in buses may reasonably expect discomfort from the rocky ride. Booth seats also make the ride awkward and cramped; staring at a stranger for a whole hour would not be the way I’d like to enjoy my commute.
Dreary interior of the WCE
Although the WCE has stations in fare zones 1, 2, and 3, it is priced differently from the rest of the system. Transport for London, Berlin’s BVG, and Paris’ RATP all price purely by zones with all modes of transport costing the same for each given distance. In order to alleviate pressure on the Millenium Line and provide a fast connection to the suburbs to lower housing price, the fare zones should really be integrated for all modes of transport. The entire line is already double tracked so there’s no reason why an all-day service can’t be provided.
