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A celebratory arrival today for #SkyTrain‘s first Mark V train, ready for service! 🚇🎉 #TransLink #vanpoli #vanre 2/6https://t.co/bVjeZKwfeM pic.twitter.com/ouWaPF9VJ8

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) July 10, 2025

Ceremonial ribbon cutting for #SkyTrain‘s very first Mark V train. 🚉🎀✂️ #TransLink #vanpoli #vanre 3/6https://t.co/bVjeZKwfeM pic.twitter.com/XKqU8oZncJ

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) July 10, 2025

SkyTrain’s longest and highest capacity train

TransLink deems this a new era for enhancing comfort and capacity on the Expo and Millennium lines. The Mark V is the longest and highest-capacity SkyTrain vehicle to date. Like the previous Mark III model, the Mark V is fully articulated, allowing passengers to walk from one end of the train to the other. However, it features an additional car, making it longer than the 80-metre station platforms, with the train’s ends extending slightly beyond the platform edges.

Accommodating the Mark V required performing some changes to the ends of the station platforms and equipment over the last few years.

The five-car-long Mark V train will be able to hold 672 passengers regularly, both seated and standing, while the four-car Mark III train can currently hold 533 passengers. This is an increase of 139 people per train compared to the current largest train, which is the four-car Mark III train.

In terms of crush capacity, the Mark V train can theoretically hold up to 1,207 passengers, and the Mark III train can handle up to 940 passengers.

Passengers will be able to differentiate the Mark V from the Mark III not only by its longer length, but also by its use of a different exterior livery, with blue being the main colour, and a change in design in the headlights of the train.

New interior layout, video screen displays, First Nations art, and improved HVAC

Additionally, there are also improvements for the train interior design, including a completely reconfigured seating layout that introduces more perimeter/side seating to enable more standing room, the thoughtful position of ample handrails to better enable the use of the additional standing room, and new leaning pads, which double as areas for bikes, luggage, strollers, wheelchairs, and other mobility devices. Overall, the interior layout features a mix of forward-facing and perimeter/side seating.

As well, unlike the Mark III, the Mark V brings back the “driver’s seat” at both ends of the train. The secure coverings conceal the manual controls and feature playful decals that visually replicate the train dashboard — a whimsical detail sure to delight kids, kids at heart, and public transit enthusiasts alike.

The Mark V #SkyTrain vehicle features the return of the “driver’s seat”.

And there are even playful train dashboard decals on the cover for manual controls. Bound to be an even more popular seat for kids. #TransLink #vanpoli #vanre 5/6https://t.co/bVjeZKwfeM pic.twitter.com/RJTdu12jrW

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) July 10, 2025

There are also major improvements to onboard wayfinding, passenger communications, and service alerts from the installation of large video screens directly above each doorway for a total of 30 digital displays on each five-car-long Mark V train.

Similar to other modern subway trains found elsewhere in the world, these digital displays — a major evolution of the use of illuminated dotted maps — provide ever-changing dynamic information, including real-time, next station information.

Although these trains, of course, do not operate on the Canada Line, the digital displays also provide riders with an overview map of the entire SkyTrain network, including the entirety of the Expo, Millennium, and Canada lines — which appears to be a move in preparation to show the future connectivity between the Canada and Millennium lines at the Broadway-City Hall Station interchange upon the opening of the Broadway extension to Arbutus in 2027.

The doorways of the interior also feature yellow light indicators to signal to passengers the opening and closing of the doors and emergency braking.

One of the biggest improvements on #SkyTrain‘s Mark V train: dynamic video screens above every doorway!

Providing real-time next station info, the entire network map, and service alerts and other useful info. #TransLink #vanpoli #vanre 4/6https://t.co/bVjeZKwfeM pic.twitter.com/7PSsBKE6s8

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) July 10, 2025

Additionally, as a first for SkyTrain, the translucent plastic windscreens at the doorways feature various Indigenous artwork by Rain Pierre of the Katzie Nation, Atheana Picha of the Kwantlen Nation, Brandon Gabriel of the Kwantlen Nation, Darryl Blyth of the Musqueam Nation, and Rose Williams of the Squamish Nation.

These art installations can also help prevent vandalism on these windscreens — a measure of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED).

One other major functional upgrade to improve passenger comfort is an enhanced air conditioning, heating, and ventilation system. As well, some changes have been made to the design of the openable windows, which are intended for emergency use only.

Passengers will also hear a “Mind the Gap” message in the automated announcements at certain stations where additional safety reminders are needed — similar to those on the London Underground. This helps ensure passengers remain aware of potential hazards when boarding or exiting the train, such as a larger gap or a slight level difference between the platform and train floors.

235 Mark V cars to arrive by 2029

Planning for the new trains began well before the pandemic.

In early 2019, TransLink launched a public consultation seeking input on what new and improved features passengers would like to see for the trains. Then, in late 2020, following a competitive international bidding process, the public transit authority selected France-based Alstom — known as Bombardier Transportation at the time, just before Alstom’s acquisition and merger with the Canadian train manufacturing giant — to build 205 new generation cars for 41 five-car-long Mark V trains.

The value of this order was stated as $723 million at the time. Under the agreement, TransLink has the option to order up to an additional 400 cars through 2035 for future demand and replacement needs, which potentially brings the contract’s numbers to as many as 605 cars to create 121 five-car trains.

In May 2024, it was announced that TransLink had exercised its first option to buy 30 more cars at a cost of $123 million. This will provide six five-car-long Mark V trains, which are specifically tied to the additional capacity needs for the opening of the Expo Line’s Surrey-Langley extension in late 2029.

In total, by 2029, TransLink will receive a total of 235 Mark V cars for 47 five-car-long trains. TransLink expects to receive one Mark V train every month starting this year.

All of these trains are manufactured in Alstom’s plant in La Pocatiere, Quebec, and then tested on the dedicated test track in Kingston, Ont. From Kingston, the train cars are then delivered to SkyTrain’s operations and maintenance depots in Burnaby on flatbed trucks on the Trans-Canada Highway.

The cars that make up the first Mark V train entering service tomorrow initially arrived in December 2023. Following the final reassembly into an articulated train and stationary testing, TransLink began real-world testing on the Expo and Millennium lines in March 2025.

“Since the merger of Alstom and Bombardier, we have carried forward proudly this legacy, and here we are: the delivery of the Mark V. These Mark V trains will serve the people of Vancouver for decades to come. What’s really cool about these Mark V trains is that much of the change that brought them from the Mark III to the Mark V comes from the users, the passengers, and the feedback from the people that TransLink has taken and brought to life with a little bit of help from Alstom,” said David van der Wee, vice-president of Rolling Stock in the Americas for Alstom, today.

“Moving from a four-car train to a five-car train for the capacity, rearranging the interiors for comfort and accessibility, these are all features that come from feedback from the people.”

It was also noted that Japanese train manufacturer Hitachi was involved in the Mark V project, specifically for the automated train control system.

Bombardier Transportation and its predecessor built the Mark I, Mark II, and Mark III trains in use on the Expo and Millennium lines.

While these new Mark V trains mark the start of a new era for the Expo and Millennium lines, they also mark the beginning of the end for SkyTrain’s entire original fleet of Mark I cars — built in the 1980s and early 1990s. The first Mark V trains will be used to retire 150 Mark I cars, with subsequent arrivals later this decade used to boost overall system capacity on the Expo and Millennium lines, and provide the additional capacity needed for the Millennium Line’s Broadway extension — opening in Fall 2027 — and the Expo Line’s Surrey-Langley extension.

In late 2024, TransLink began the procurement process seeking potentially interested parties to creatively repurpose the Mark I cars for other uses in the community, such as cafe stands, artist studios, and public art pieces.

Walking through a few cars of the new Mark V #SkyTrain vehicle. #TransLink #vanpoli #vanre 6/6https://t.co/bVjeZKwfeM pic.twitter.com/fJLVHSkxXb

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) July 10, 2025

The very first time I’ve come across a moving test of the new #SkyTrain Mark V train. #TransLink pic.twitter.com/p1uV1FONX0

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) May 24, 2025

Spotted a new Mark 5 #SkyTrain vehicle on a Millennium Line test run. #TransLink pic.twitter.com/dCPonkwNsx

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) June 3, 2025

To support the expanded fleet with the use of the longer trains, TransLink has been overhauling its operations and maintenance depots for the Expo and Millennium lines, including upgrades for the Edmonds depot in Burnaby, the construction of a brand-new additional depot near Braid Station in Coquitlam at a cost of $1.3 billion (opening in 2029), and plans for a future additional depot in North Cloverdale on the Expo Line’s Surrey-Langley extension. Also, a brand-new state-of-the-art SkyTrain control centre building will open at the Edmonds depot in 2026.

TransLink indicated today that over the next five years, it is expecting a 20 per cent increase in ridership on the Expo Line and a 50 per cent jump on the Millennium Line during peak hours.

“Effective transit makes life more affordable, fights climate change, reduces traffic and unlocks [the] city’s economic potential. It’s connecting people to jobs, essential services, and local businesses. The new train cars add much-needed capacity for people and for commuters than the current trains have, which addresses the ridership demand that’s growing in the years to come and really improving accessibility,” said Gregor Robertson, the federal Minister of Housing and the former mayor of Vancouver.

Ravi Kahlon, the B.C. Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, added, “This is not just a new train. This is about advancing how we move, how we connect, and how we grow as a region, and this investment that we’ve made between TransLink, the federal government, [and] the province. These partnerships are critical in ensuring that our economy continues to grow and that people can continue to move, and not only am I excited about this, but I’m also excited because we have two major SkyTrain expansions happening thanks to the partnerships as well.”

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• All about SkyTrain expansion: Interview with TransLink's head of SkyTrain
• End of the line in sight for two generations of old SkyTrain cars
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• A world-class example of repurposing subway trains as public space centrepieces