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The first batch of Mark II trains is distinguished by its white exterior livery and a more aerodynamic body design compared to the boxier, first-generation Mark I cars. This initial batch entered service in time for the 2002 opening of the original Millennium Line and is now typically dedicated to that line, operating in two-car train configurations. These cars are currently in relatively poor condition.

The second batch of Mark II cars is visually identifiable by TransLink’s standardized charcoal grey, blue, and yellow exterior livery, as well as several interior improvements over the first batch. These enhancements include more comfortable seating in a more efficient layout, an improved heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system, and the introduction of SkyTrain’s very first onboard illuminated dot network maps — mounted above doorways — that track the next station in real time.

This second batch is typically assigned to the Expo Line, where it operates in four-car train configurations. These cars are already beginning to show their age.

TransLink now estimates that the cost to order new Mark V cars to replace the first batch of 60 Mark II cars will be about $433 million.

Approximately $51 million would be spent to initiate the order in 2026, with the remaining balance spread through 2030. The first replacement trains could be ready by 2030, at which point the first batch of Mark II cars would begin a gradual retirement.

Expo and Millennium lines to be served by Mark III and Mark V trains only

Starting in 2033/2034, additional payments would begin flowing to the train manufacturer to replace the remaining 48 Mark II cars from the second batch.

This would bring SkyTrain’s entire Mark II fleet to a complete end later in the 2030s, at which point the Expo and Millennium lines would operate exclusively with Mark V and Mark III trains, with the original Mark I cars also fully retired well before then.

“More than half of our capital program ensures the assets we use to deliver our current services remain in a state of good repair. Some of those major initiatives include replacing our aging Mark II SkyTrain cars and conventional buses, as well as maintenance work to extend the life of our buses,” said Patrice Impey, TransLink’s CFO, during the public transit authority’s board of directors meeting earlier this month.

“Investing in maintenance is essential to protect the reliability and safety of our transit system, ensuring we can continue to keep people moving.”

Knowing that the Mark V train will become the dominant model serving the Expo and Millennium lines in the not-too-distant future, TransLink previously invested significant research and development effort into optimizing the Mark V’s technical performance, functionality, passenger comfort, and interior seating and standing capacity layout.

The Mark V model essentially has the same bones as the Mark III trains delivered between 2016 and 2020, but it is longer — adding one additional car — and incorporates improved technical performance along with upgraded interior design, seating, and passenger comfort. Enhancements also include improved HVAC systems and mounted large video displays above doorways that provide real-time next-station information and other pertinent system details — a big upgrade from the use of illuminated dotted maps on the Mark II and Mark III trains. There is a “Mark IV” model designation, but it is only associated with some Mark III cars that saw some modifications.

Under TransLink’s 2020 purchase agreement with Alstom (formerly Bombardier Transportation, the public transit authority has the option to order up to an additional 400 Mark V cars through 2035 to meet future ridership demand and replacement needs. This could bring the total contract to as many as 605 Mark V cars, or 121 five-car Mark V trains.

In 2020, TransLink placed an initial order for 205 Mark V cars, forming 41 five-car trains. These trains are intended to replace the rapidly aging and outdated Mark I fleet, provide additional capacity for the Millennium Line’s Broadway extension opening in Fall 2027, and deliver an overall capacity boost across the Expo and Millennium lines.

In 2024, TransLink exercised its first option to purchase an additional 30 Mark V cars at a cost of $123 million. This order will provide six five-car Mark V trains to meet the added capacity needs associated with the opening of the Expo Line’s Surrey-Langley extension in late 2029. This brings the total Mark V order to date to 235 cars for 47 five-car trains, with the final vehicles from the first two orders scheduled to arrive in 2029.

Exercising further options to retire the Mark II fleet would also help maintain continuous production — enabling economies of scale — at Alstom’s manufacturing facilities in Eastern Canada into the 2030s.

By 2027/2028, SkyTrain’s original fleet of 150 Mark I cars from the 1980s and early 1990s will be fully retired as the first Mark V trains enter service. Some Mark I cars have already been retired this year after the first Mark V trains entered service in July 2025; as of early November 2025, five Mark V trains (25 cars) were in service, with another three trains undergoing testing.

Future capacities on all three SkyTrain lines

TransLink told Daily Hive Urbanized that the peak-period capacities of the three SkyTrain lines in 2025 are 14,400 passengers per hour per direction (pphpd) on the Expo Line, 4,350 pphpd on the Millennium Line, and 5,800 pphpd on the Canada Line.

By 2030, following the introduction of the new Mark V trains, the peak-period capacities will reach 17,000 pphpd on the Expo Line and 8,000 on the Millennium Line.

The 38 per cent increase in peak period capacity on the Millennium Line reflects the additional demand and service boost associated with the opening of the Broadway extension. At this time, TransLink is unable to commit to whether Mark III and/or Mark V trains will operate on the Millennium Line after the six-km-long extension reaching Arbutus opens, as it is “prioritizing the Mark V to enter service on the Expo Line.”

“Once the Broadway Subway and Surrey-Langley SkyTrain have opened, we will re-evaluate our service plans based on operational need,” states TransLink.

The planned peak-period capacity on the Canada Line by 2030 is 6,500 pphpd.

Should there be a need to further increase Canada Line service, additional capacity is available following the arrival of 12 additional two-car trains (24 cars) in 2019 and 2020 from South Korean manufacturer Hyundai Rotem. This expansion increased the Canada Line’s fleet from the 20 two-car trains (40 cars) in use since the line’s 2009 opening to a total of 32 two-car trains (64 cars).

When the expanded fleet first entered service, TransLink leadership noted that the Canada Line would be capable of reaching peak-period capacities of over 8,000 pphpd. They also said that with the use of this expanded two-car train fleet, the region’s third SkyTrain line would also begin hitting the practical ceiling of using higher service frequencies alone to further increase capacity. This suggests the need for longer trains for the Canada Line’s next big capacity increase move over the long term.

Similarly, on the Expo and Millennium lines, the introduction of the Mark V train — the longest and highest-capacity train in service — reduces some of the reliance on higher frequencies to meet demand by providing greater capacity per train, with these new trains filling the entire 80-metre length of the station platforms. During peak hours, Expo Line frequencies can reach every two minutes or less, which also begins to approach the system’s practical limit.

These existing and future capacities for all three SkyTrain lines also reflect a change in ridership habits during and after the pandemic.

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• First of 47 new generation Mark V trains enter service on SkyTrain
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