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Page 115
Suggested Citation:"WCE." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25256.
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Page 115
Page 116
Suggested Citation:"WCE." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25256.
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Page 116
Page 117
Suggested Citation:"WCE." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25256.
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Page 117
Page 118
Suggested Citation:"WCE." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25256.
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Page 118

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115 The West Coast Express (WCE) is a commuter rail line operated by the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority (TransLink). TransLink is the Metro Vancouver Regional District’s regional transportation authority for the greater Vancouver region. TransLink plans, fi nances, and manages all public transportation, including bus, ferry (SeaBus), light rail (SkyTrain), and WCE commuter rail, as well as cycling, in the service area. WCE operates over a 42-mile segment of Canadian Pacifi c Railway (CP) main freight line tracks between downtown Vancouver and Mission City. The line links eight stations on the route, including CP’s former Vancouver Passenger Terminal, now renamed Waterfront Station. Waterfront Station connects to the SkyTrain’s Expo Line and Millennium Line and to the SeaBus ferry dock that links Vancouver with North Vancouver across Burrard Inlet. WCE provides commuter rail service on weekdays only in the peak direction at peak times. Five trains run every weekday between 5:25 a.m. and 7:35 p.m. While there is no regular service on weekends and holidays, special event trains are provided on select weekends in the summer. WCE owns fi ve locomotives manufactured by Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc., and one manufactured by Motive Power, in addition to 44 units of bi-level passenger cars from Bombardier. The Offi ce of the Regional Transportation Commissioner originally governed TransLink. In 2014, the provincial legislature dissolved the offi ce and passed a new governance structure for TransLink. The new governance structure includes the Mayor’s Council on Regional Transportation and the TransLink Board of Directors. The Mayor’s Council is composed of 21 representatives from municipalities, the electoral area, and the Tsawwassen First Nation within the service region. The main responsibility of the council is to approve transportation plans prepared by TransLink and to perform regulatory oversight on fares, customer services, assets, and compensation levels. GOVERNANCE WCE West Coast Express South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Vancouver, BC, Canada HISTORY The Province of British Columbia amended the Municipal Act to enable the creation of regional districts. GVRD was established to deliver regional services on transportation, core utilities, parks, and housing. GVRD and the Province of British Columbia released the Transport 2021 plan, proposing development of more choices in transportation modes. WCE service began. GVRD created a subsidiary West Coast Express, Ltd., to operate the service. GVRD and the Province of British Columbia reached an agreement to create GVTA. GVTA, commonly known as TransLink, was offi cially launched. The Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) Board adopted Metro Vancouver as the new identity for better recognition of the agency’s nature. The legal entity GVRD still exists. Under the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority (SCBCTA) Act, the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (GVTA) continued the authority under the name SCBCTA. WCE launched a $28.1 million upgrade project to expand the fl eet and add storage tracks and maintenance equipment for the new cars. TransLink’s governance structure was changed. The Offi ce of the Regional Transportation Commissioner was dissolved. Bombardier was awarded the contract to operate WCE trains for the next 5 years. GVRD negotiated with CP to initiate a commuter rail service on its main freight line between downtown Vancouver and Mission City. 1965 1967 1993 1995 1997 1999 2007 2010 2014 1993 – 1994

116 Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles PERFORMANCE STATISTICS Past Trends 2012–2016* Service Data in 2016 Operating Cost per Passenger Car Revenue Mile (Canadian Dollars) *Reported only for years source data are available. Data source: Canadian Urban Transit Association Operating Cost per Passenger (Canadian Dollars) Passenger Trips per Passenger Car Revenue Mile Passenger Miles per Passenger Trip $21.24 $23.59 20162015201420132012 $7.38$7.58 20162015201420132012 2.88 3.11 20162015201420132012 21.7521.75 20162015201420132012 Annual Operating Cost: $18,147,935 (Canadian Dollars) Total Directional Route Miles: 42 Unlinked Passenger Trips: 2,459,365 Passenger Car Revenue Miles: 854,471 Annual Total Passenger Miles: 53,486,233 Data source: Canadian Urban Transit Association As a multimodal transit provider and parent agency of WCE, TransLink reports statistical and fi nancial data to the following entities: the Canadian Urban Transit Association (the Canadian equivalent of the American Public Transportation Association), provincial government agencies, and Transport Canada (the Canadian counterpart of the Federal Railroad Administration), with less frequency. TransLink plans, funds, and manages all major capital projects for the WCE commuter rail. TransLink also prepares the Resiliency and Emergency Preparedness Plan for commuter rail operation. TransLink is responsible for overseeing each of its major contracts. Host railroad CP takes charge of coordination with other contractors, especially when any construction or maintenance project is adjacent to the active CP main line. VIA Rail Canada, the Canadian counterpart of Amtrak, has been the contractor for maintenance of equipment (MOE) for WCE commuter rail since inception. Since 1995, several smaller contracts have also been awarded to provide primarily station and platform maintenance, environmental service, and ticket vending functions. The TransLink Board of Directors consists of nine members responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of TransLink. A screening panel is established annually to nominate candidates for appointment to the board. The Mayor’s Council approves appointments to the TransLink Board of Directors. CONTRACTED SERVICE General Contracted Service Informaon Oversight and Responsibilies CP is the host railroad of the WCE commuter rail service. TransLink entered into a 20-year service agreement with CP in 1995 to lease tracks and to purchase service functions, including train operations, maintenance of way, train dispatching, and communications and signals. This agreement expired in 2014 and then was renewed for an additional 20 years for right-of-way and all service functions except train operations. Bombardier took over the responsibility of train operations under a 5-year contract, with an option for a subsequent 5-year renewal. The contract renewal term was 5 years prior to 2009. Currently, the MOE contract is renewed on a 2-year term.

WCE 117 A—Agency; B—Host Railroad (RR); C—VIA Rail Canada; D—Independent Contractors (RR or Non-RR) A B C D Train Operations Maintenance of Infrastructure Maintenance of Equipment Specifi cally: Train Dispatching Services Train Operations Maintenance of Equipment Facilities Maintenance Maintenance of Way Provision of Electric Traction (na) Signals and Communication Positive Train Control Maintenance (na) Station Operations and Maintenance Non-revenue Equipment Provision Safety Management Security Services Environmental Services Management/Oversight Services Materials Management Services Risk Management Assessment Customer Service Functions Marketing Communications Ticketing/Sales Revenue Collection Information Technology Systems Accident/Fatality Investigations/Support Supplemental Work Other (na) Contracted Service Matrix The matrix below illustrates the responsibility for major service functions for WCE. The capital letters A, B, C, and D represent the TransLink in-house staff (WCE), the host railroad (CP), VIA Rail Canada, and the independent contractors (Bombardier, etc.), respectively.

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TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Research Report 200: Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 2: Commuter Rail System Profiles describes the 31 commuter rail services in North America and the various delivery approaches, and documents a broad range of strategies and approaches for managing the operation and maintenance issues associated with the contracting of commuter rail services.

This report complements TCRP Research Report 200: Contracting Commuter Rail Services, Volume 1: Guidebook, which provides an evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of each potential approach for providing commuter rail service, including the primary functions for commuter rail delivery—train operations, dispatch, maintenance of way, and maintenance of equipment. The guidebook includes a decision tree analysis and summarizes current trends for contracting commuter rail services, along with highlighting innovative approaches for contracting transportation services.

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