Sapperton station

Sapperton is an elevated station on the Expo Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station is located on Brunette Avenue, above a Canadian Pacific Kansas City rail right-of-way in the Sapperton neighbourhood in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. Located nearby is the Royal Columbian Hospital. TransLink's head offices are also located within the vicinity of the station.^[2]

Sapperton
SkyTrain station
Platform level at Sapperton station
General information
Location	20 Spruce Street, New Westminster
Coordinates	49.22443°N 122.88964°W / 49.22443; -122.88964
Owned by	TransLink
Platforms	Side platforms
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Accessible	Yes
Architect	Hancock Bruckner Eng & Wright
Other information
Station code	SA
Fare zone	2
History
Opened	January 2, 2002
Passengers
2023[1]	889,800  23.3%
Rank	44 of 53
Services
Preceding station TransLink Following station Columbia towards Waterfront Expo Line Lougheed branch Braid towards Production Way–University

Keary Street entrance

Spruce Street entrance

History

The station was opened in 2002 as part of the original Millennium Line project. Before the first phase of the line was completed, a short spur from Columbia station was opened in eastern New Westminster as a test track; this spur included Sapperton and Braid stations.

In 2004, work was done on the platform tiles to make the surface less slippery.^[3]

In 2016, SkyTrain service was reconfigured in anticipation of the opening of the Evergreen Extension; as a result, Millennium Line service was discontinued at Sapperton station. Since October 22, 2016, Sapperton has been served by an Expo Line branch with service between Waterfront and Production Way–University stations.^[4]

Structure and design

Sapperton station was designed by the architecture firm Hancock Bruckner Eng & Wright^[5] and, like all stations constructed as part of the original Millennium Line, has a unique design. The elevated station contains a mezzanine level connected to the platform level by stairs, escalators and elevators. There are two side platforms, separated by an artwork wheel. There was previously a stationary bike on the mezzanine level which would rotate the artwork wheel when ridden, but it was removed after it was vandalized.^{[citation needed]}

Station information

Entrances

Sapperton station is served by one official entrance. It is located at the northeast end of the station. This entrance is connected to ground level by a walkway over Brunette Avenue that exits on Keary Street, across from the Royal Columbian Hospital.^[6]

A second, unofficial entrance is at the south end of the station and is not wheelchair accessible. This entrance is technically an emergency exit that leads down from platform 1,^[7] but people commonly use it as a safe way to access the station from Spruce Street, which is next to the station but not accessible using the main entrance. TransLink nevertheless installed Compass card readers at the site.^[8]

Transit connections

See also: List of bus routes in Metro Vancouver

Sapperton station is not served directly by any bus routes. Connections can be made to the 109 bus route, a short walk from the station at the intersection of Columbia Street and Keary Street:

Stop number	Routes
53111	109 Lougheed Station
53218	109 New Westminster Station

References

1. "2023 Transit Service Performance Review – SkyTrain Stations Summaries". tableau.com. TransLink. April 17, 2024. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
2. "TransLink General Contact Information". Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
3. "TransLink to modify flooring at Sapperton SkyTrain station". translink.bc.ca. July 19, 2004. Archived from the original on December 7, 2004. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
4. "Changes Coming to SkyTrain October 22". TransLink. September 19, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
5. Taggart, Jim (July 1, 2001). "Vancouver's Millennium Line". Canadian Architect. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
6. TransLink. Sapperton Station Entrance Location (PDF) (Map). Retrieved January 22, 2018.
7. TransLink BC [@TransLink] (February 25, 2019). "Technically it is an emergency exit/entrance but people have been using this door as a safe way to get to Spruce street hence the installation of the card reader.^kv" (Tweet). Retrieved March 3, 2019 – via Twitter.
8. TransLink BC [@TransLink] (February 24, 2019). "You can use the door to get to Spruce street. The Card reader was installed for people using this door so that they would have valid fare as they would be in a fare paid zone. Hope this answers your question.^kv" (Tweet). Retrieved March 3, 2019 – via Twitter.