Connections 96 B-Line Disabled access Yes Province British Columbia Platform Island platform | Platforms Centre platform Structure type Elevated Opened 28 March 1994 Passengers (2011) 31,471 Tracks 2 | |
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Address Surrey, BC V3T 4C3, Canada Similar Central City Shopping, King George station, Gateway station, Scott Road station, Newton Exchange Bay | ||
Surrey Central station is located on an elevated portion of the Expo Line, a part of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. It is located in downtown Surrey, British Columbia, just east of the North Surrey Recreation Centre and near to the Central City Shopping Centre, the Surrey campus of Simon Fraser University, and Surrey City Hall.
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Surrey Central is the busiest of the four stations located within Surrey, with a daily average ridership of approximately 31,500 on a typical weekday.
History
Surrey Central station was one of three new stations opened on March 28, 1994 when the Expo Line was extended into downtown Surrey. The name "Surrey Central" was given after an ad was placed in the local paper calling on residents to propose an appropriate name. Winners received a City of Surrey mug, a letter of thanks, and a T-shirt with a vision of Surrey on the front of it. Previous to the SkyTrain expansion, "Surrey Central" was a bus loop known as "Whalley Exchange" as the immediate area is historically known as "Whalley".
Over the years, the area has earned a reputation for being unsafe and a magnet for crime, including violence and drug trafficking. Officers from both the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority Police Service, and Transit Security Department can be found patrolling the bus loop and SkyTrain platform in an effort to reduce crime and disorder. Surrey RCMP also make occasional patrols of the station.
In an effort to combat the station's rundown image, and to show off experimental urban design, the City of Surrey and TransLink agreed to have Surrey Central Station participate in the GVTA's Urban Transit Village program. The Transit Villages are defined by TransLink as "a new approach to station design and access." While the original schedule called for construction to be completed by Spring of 2007, nothing beyond design plans have been completed. The Surrey Central plan specifically called for improvements in four areas: station access, street design, King George Boulevard, and land use.
Services
Surrey Central station is a transfer point for twenty-one TransLink bus routes that serve Surrey, White Rock, North Delta, Ladner, Tsawwassen, and Langley, the highest number of bus route connections at any station in the SkyTrain network.