Waterfront station is a major intermodal public transportation facility and the main transit terminus in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is on West Cordova Street in Downtown Vancouver, between Granville and Seymour Street. The station is also accessible via two other street-level entrances, one on Howe Street to the west for direct access to the Expo Line and another on Granville Street to the south for direct access to the Canada Line.
The station is within walking distance of Vancouver's historical Gastown district, Canada Place, Vancouver Convention Centre, Harbour Centre, Sinclair Centre, and the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre float plane terminal. A heliport operated by Helijet, along with the downtown campuses for Simon Fraser University and the British Columbia Institute of Technology, are also located within the vicinity of the station.
History
thumb|left|Waterfront station
Waterfront station was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and opened on August 1, 1914. It was the Pacific terminus for CPR's transcontinental passenger trains to Montreal, Quebec, and Toronto, Ontario. The current station is the third CPR station. The previous CPR station was located one block west, at the foot of Granville and, unlike the current classical-styled Waterfront station, was built in "railway gothic" like CPR's many railway hotels.
During World War II, the station was used as a temporary hospital for wounded returning soldiers.
Waterfront station was targeted for conversion into a public intermodal transit facility in the mid-1970s. This effort was previously outlined in the Granville Waterfront Station Plan (GWS Plan), which also proposed the relocation of the termini of Canadian National Railway's Super Continental and Amtrak's Pacific International intercity train services from False Creek to Waterfront station, and the construction of an intercity bus terminal across the street to replace the terminal at Larwill Park. The conversion reached an important milestone in 1977, when the SeaBus began operating out of a purpose-built floating pier that was connected to the main terminal building via an overhead walkway above the CPR tracks.
After Via Rail took over the passenger operations of CPR and Canadian National Railway (CNR) in 1978, it initially continued using both railways' stations in Vancouver. However, on June 14, 1979, Via decided to consolidate its Vancouver operations at the Vancouver CNR station and to cease using the CPR station. The choice of CNR station was made due to the lower cost of modifications required for additional train service, greater room for expansion, and better access to maintenance facilities. Also, because only a small percentage of intercity train travellers used transit to reach their train departures, the superior local bus and ferry connections of the CPR station became less of a determining factor. The last scheduled Via passenger train to use Waterfront station departed on October 27, 1979.
In 2009, the Canada Line opened with separate platforms which are accessible via the main station building, but require leaving the fare-paid zone when transferring between other modes. Waterfront station serves as a common terminus point for both the Expo Line and the Canada Line.
Waterfront station was one of the first stations to receive TransLink's "T" signage, denoting a transit station. This signage was originally installed in the downtown core of Vancouver to help visitors during the 2010 Olympics.
In 2018, TransLink announced that Waterfront's Canada Line platforms, as well as two other stations on the line within downtown Vancouver, would receive an accessibility upgrade including additional escalators, as most Canada Line stations were built with only up-escalators initially. Construction began in early 2019 and was completed in December.
In 2020, TransLink started work on replacing the escalators connecting to the Expo Line. The first step in this project was to close access to the Expo Line from Cordova Street for three weeks in June. The closure forced passengers to access the Expo Line from the Howe Street entrance. Because the construction blocked access to the elevators to the Expo Line platforms, a temporary shuttle bus service between the SeaBus terminal, the main concourse area, and Burrard station was instated.
In 2022, TransLink relocated the in-person service centre at Stadium–Chinatown station and opened a new customer service centre at Waterfront station on September 23.
Architecture
thumb|Waterfront's main concourse in 2018
Waterfront's main station building was designed in a neoclassical style, with a symmetrical red-brick facade dominated by a row of smooth, white Ionic order columns. The Ionic columns are repeated in the grand interior hall, flanking the perimeter of the space. The main hall features two large clocks facing each other high on the east and west walls. Paintings depicting various scenic Canadian landscapes, completed in 1916 by Adelaide Langford, line the walls above the columns. The Montreal architecture firm Barott, Blackader and Webster was responsible for designing the main station building.
The station building is owned by Cadillac Fairview and underwent renovations in 2015 to restore its brick facade.
Services
- SkyTrain Expo Line through Vancouver to northeast/south Burnaby, New Westminster and Surrey
- SkyTrain Canada Line, through Vancouver to central Richmond and Vancouver International Airport
- West Coast Express commuter rail Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, and Mission
- SeaBus passenger ferry to Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver
- Various local, suburban, and express bus services provided by TransLink
- HeliJet's heliport is adjacent to the SeaBus concourse, therefore allowing passengers to connect to Waterfront station's main terminal building
- Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre float plane terminal is located approximately two blocks west of Canada Place
Station information
thumb|The Howe Street entrance to Waterfront station in 2006
thumb|Expo Line platform (platforms 1 & 2) in 2025
thumb|The digital "next arrival" sign at the Expo Line island platform (2017)
thumb|SkyTrain's Canada Line platform in 2025
thumb|West Coast Express platform in 2010
Entrances
- Cordova Street entrance (terminal building) : a fully accessible entrance connecting all services at Waterfront station. The entrance is at the east end of platforms 1 and 2 (Expo Line) and north end of platform 3 and 4 (Canada Line).
- Howe Street entrance: serves Canada Place, with underground connection to Sinclair Centre and Waterfront Centre at concourse level. No elevator is available at this entrance.
- Granville Street entrance : a new entrance opened 2009 in conjunction to the opening of the Canada Line. Located at the south end of platform 3 and 4 (Canada Line).
Transit connections
Bus services load on Cordova Street. Additional stops are on Hastings Street, adjacent to the Canada Line entrance near Granville Street for the R5 RapidBus service.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Bay
!Location
!Route
!Notes
|-
! 1
| Cordova Street<br />
|44 UBC
|
- Express, weekday only. No evening service.
|-
! 2
| Cordova Street<br />
| 2 Macdonald
|
|-
!3
|Cordova Street<br />
|50 False Creek South
|
|-
! rowspan="7" | 4
| rowspan="7" | Cordova Street<br />
|3 Main
|
|-
|4 Powell
|
|-
|7 Nanaimo Station
|
|-
|8 Fraser
|
|-
|10 Downtown
|
|-
|50 Waterfront Station
|
|-
|N8 Fraser Nightbus
|
|-
!
| Hastings Street<br />
|R5 Hastings Street to Burrard Station
|
- RapidBus service
|-
!
| Hastings Street<br />
|R5 Hastings Street to SFU
|
- RapidBus service
|-
|}
See also
- List of heritage buildings in Vancouver
- Pacific Central Station
- Pan Pacific Vancouver Hotel
- Fairmont Pacific Rim
- Rogers Tower