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Rapid transit in Canada entails rapid transit systems operating in Canadian urban centres. In addition to fully grade-separated rapid transit lines, there are also several light rail transit lines and bus rapid transit lines in Canada.
There are three rapid transit systems in Canada: the Toronto Subway, Montreal Metro and Vancouver SkyTrain.
History
The first rapid transit system in Canada was the Toronto Subway, which opened its first 12-station segment in 1954. It has since expanded to three full-scale rapid transit lines and one light metro line. Construction has begun on the Eglinton Crosstown Line and the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension, which will add 28 new stations and a total of 27.6 km of new track. It is currently the largest system in Canada by station count.
In 1966, the Montreal Metro began operation. Plans to build a rapid transit system in the city had existed since 1902. Montreal has the largest metro system in Canada by daily ridership.
The Vancouver SkyTrain opened in January 1986 for the Expo 86 world fair. It differs from the two other rapid transit systems in that it is an intermediate-rail, driverless system and operates predominantly above grade. It is the largest system in Canada by length.