Is the SkyTrain driverless?

One of the most recognizable parts of Vancouver, seen all over the city and metro area, is the SkyTrain. Built-in the mid-80s and unveiled for Expo 86, originally, it was the world's longest automated (that is, driverless) rail transit system for decades, and it's still one of the longest.



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SkyTrain has 79.6 km (49.5 mi) of track and uses fully automated trains on grade-separated tracks running on underground and elevated guideways, allowing SkyTrain to hold consistently high on-time reliability.

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Propulsion uses two Linear Induction Motors—straight line versions of the conventional AC rotary electric motor. The motors react with an aluminium-capped steel rail on the guideway to provide motive power. SkyTrain was the first major application of LIM technology to mass transit systems.

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TransLink's reasons for rejecting an overnight SkyTrain service. The SkyTrains are automated and driverless. In theory, they are the perfect fit for a 24/7 service transit system. But, some parts of its infrastructure are 40 years old and require daily maintenance, most of which is done at night.

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The world's first automated, driverless train has been unveiled in Germany's Hamburg.

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Today, there is a higher degree of automation than ever on heavy, inter-city and high speed train services. However, just as with aircraft, there is still always a driver or engineer on board, with various levels of control, as well as overall management of the train, rather like a ship's captain.

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The 2004 Sri Lanka tsunami train wreck is the largest single rail disaster in world history by death toll, with 1,700 fatalities or more. It occurred when a crowded passenger train (No 50, Matara Express) was destroyed on a coastal railway in Sri Lanka by a tsunami that followed the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

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The Flying Scotsman express from Edinburgh Waverley to London King's Cross failed to slow down for a diversion and derailed. Twenty-eight people were killed, including the talented Scottish biochemist, John Masson Gulland.

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There are permanent magnets in both the rail and the arm that surrounds the train, causing the arm and the train to repel each other and suspend the train.

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Extending the Millennium Line SkyTrain to UBC will contribute to a growing transit network that meets the needs of the entire region, reducing congestion, moving people more quickly and safely between their homes and places of work, and minimizing our impact on the environment.

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The SkyTrain power supply and distribution system is made up of electric propulsion power substations, which is fed through BC Hydro's utility service.

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