Vancouver — Trams Leave for Winter Olympics

Rail Transit Online, October 2009

A ceremony was held on Oct. 12 marking the departure from Brussels, Belgium, of two Bombardier Flexity trams for service during the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Vancouver. The vehicles were transported by road to Bremerhaven, Germany, where they were transferred to a ship for a voyage across the Atlantic, through the Panama Canal and up the west coast of Central America and North America. They are scheduled to arrive in Vancouver in early December.

The 105-ft.-long (32 meter) cars are owned by Societe des Transports Intercommunaux de Bruxelles, the Brussels transit authority. They will operate a 1.1-mi. (1.8 km) streetcar demonstration project between the Olympic Village and the Granville Island entertainment area from Jan. 21 until Mar. 21, 2010, co-sponsored by Bombardier Transportation and the City of Vancouver. The service will operate on 6 to 7 min. headways seven days a week, 18 hours a day.