Connections Pacific Central Disabled access Yes Province British Columbia | Platforms Centre platform Structure type Elevated Opened 11 December 1985 Platform Island platform Tracks 2 | |
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Address Terminal Ave, Vancouver, BC V6A, Canada Similar Broadway–City Hall station, Olympic Village station, Renfrew station, Hotel Vancouver, False Creek |
Main Street–Science World (formerly Main Street) is an elevated station on the Expo Line of the SkyTrain system in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The station is accessible from both sides of Main Street at the intersection of Main Street and Terminal Avenue, and is adjacent to Pacific Central station, the city's inter-city railway and bus terminal.
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History
Prior to SkyTrain opening for full revenue service, the station served as the western terminus of a short 1 km demonstration track during the summer of 1983. A single two-car prototype train ran both eastbound and westbound on the current westbound track, between the station and what was at that time the end of the completed guideway, at the eastern end of the centre median of Terminal Avenue.
In December 1985, SkyTrain began revenue service with the station opening as "Main Street" and was one of two stations that served the Expo 86 site: the other being Stadium–Chinatown station. This station served as an access point to the East Gate of Expo. This was the first elevated SkyTrain station to have buildings built around and above it, as witnessed by the Vancity tower on the west side of the station.
Once Expo 86 had ended, many of its buildings had either been torn down or removed. One of the few to remain was the nearby geodesic dome, known during the fair as "Expo Centre". Now one of the city's most recognizable landmarks, a science museum known as Science World moved into this space. On September 21, 1990, the station's name was hyphenated adding "Science World", due to its proximity to the then-newly popular landmark attraction one block away. Original maps designated the station as "Science World-Main Street".
With the station remaining the oldest on the Expo Line, plans to re-design as well as lengthen the 27-year-old structure are currently underway. Construction began in early 2013 and is expected to last until Summer 2015, resulting in a complete re-construction of the station and improved access, safety, lighting and the installation of FareGates as part of the larger Compass smart-card system.