On a cool rainy November 1st a group of about 200 guests joined politicians and other noteworthy individuals at Waterfront Station for a mid-morning celebration of 10 years of West Coast Express service. Ken Hardie, TransLink's Communications Director introduced, amongst others, Don Campbell, Canadian Pacific VP, and Doug Kelsey, President and CEO of West Coast Express. Mr. Kelsey then made a presentation to Mrs. R. Lee, in recognition of her husband's contributions to Vancouver's transit system. At 11:35 am the group traveled to Port Coquitlam station, where a group photo was taken. At 12:15 the group reboarded and returned to Waterfront by 12:50 pm. Lunch was included.
There was an opportunity for old to meet new, and past to catch up with present as many of the community and business leaders, design, construction and operating staff responsible for creating the service, were present to ride the rails. "This is a chance for West Coast
Express to thank everyone for their effort and let them see the results of their labours", said Kelsey. "Building a commuter service in 18 months was unheard of, and West Coast Express would not have been possible without the cooperation and contribution of many people from various areas."
West Coast Express opened November 1, 1995 and ridership has gone from approximately 5,000 customers per day to over 8,000, it now carries over 2,000,000 people annually. When it opened cost recovery was only 25% (compared with 50% for Translink as a whole). By 2004 cost recovery climbed to 64% while TransLink was only 55%.
New literature and a redesigned website have been completed. Remember if you have visitors who would like a scenic train ride you can do the 2-hour "WCE Circle Tour" for only $6.00. Board any eastbound train, get off at Coquitlam Central. Board the #169 bus to Braid Station and return bySkyTrain to Waterfront.
