Surrey Central
SkyTrain station
Surrey Central's north stationhouse on City Parkway
General information
Location10277 City Parkway
Surrey, British Columbia
Canada
Coordinates49°11′22″N 122°50′52″W / 49.189473°N 122.847871°W / 49.189473; -122.847871
Owned byTransLink
PlatformsCentre platform
Tracks2
Connections R1 King George Blvd
Construction
Structure typeElevated
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeSC
Fare zone3
History
OpenedMarch 28, 1994 (1994-03-28)
Rebuilt2017–2019 (2019)
Previous namesWhalley Central (planning)
Passengers
2022[1]3,894,200
Rank8 of 53
Services
Preceding station TransLink Following station
Gateway
towards Waterfront
 Expo Line
Surrey branch
 King George
Terminus
The Surrey Centre Library and City Hall are adjacent to the station.
Platform level at Surrey Central

Surrey Central is an elevated station on the Expo Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station is located in the Whalley / City Centre district of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, just east of the North Surrey Recreation Centre. The station is within walking distance of the Central City shopping centre, Surrey City Hall, and SFU Surrey, the Surrey campus of Simon Fraser University.

History

Surrey Central station was opened in 1994 along with two other stations when the Expo Line was extended from Scott Road station farther into Whalley, to the "Surrey City Centre" district.[2] Prior to the opening of the station, there was a bus loop on the site known as "Whalley Exchange", which opened in 1975.[3] The station was briefly known as "Whalley Central" during planning;[4] however, the name "Surrey Central" was chosen in December 1992 as the winning entry in a public contest.[5]

Over the years, the station has earned a reputation for being unsafe and a magnet for crime, including violence and drug trafficking. In 2009, it had the second-highest number of violent crimes in the SkyTrain system (with Commercial–Broadway station having the highest).[6][7]

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 were defined by TransLink as "a new approach to station design and access." While the original schedule called for construction to be completed by the second quarter of 2007, nothing beyond design plans were completed. The Surrey Central plan specifically called for improvements in four areas: station access, street design, King George Boulevard, and land use.

Officers from the Metro Vancouver Transit Police can be found patrolling the bus loop and SkyTrain platform in an effort to reduce crime and disorder, with supplemental volunteers patrolling the area and reporting any suspicious or dangerous behaviour.[8] By the mid-2010s, with extensive police patrols and redevelopment of the area, violent crimes shifted from Whalley south to Newton, which has taken over the area's reputation of being the most dangerous part of Surrey.[9]

In March 2017, station upgrades started on Surrey Central station to create two new entrances on the north side of the station at Central Avenue and City Parkway to reduce congestion. Accessibility and lighting was also improved with three additional escalators and an elevator.[10] Construction work was completed in February 2019, and the new stationhouse opened to the public in March 2019.[11][12]

Services

Surrey Central station is a transfer point for several bus routes that serve various areas of Surrey, White Rock, North Delta and Langley.

Station information

Design

Surrey Central station was designed by Musson Cattell Mackey Architects and includes a series of references to Victorian-style train sheds, which the Vancouver Sun criticized as "attempts to create instant heritage where none exists".[13]

Station layout

T Platform 1
Inbound		 ← ■ Expo Line towards Waterfront (Gateway)
Island platform; doors will open on the left
Platform 2
Outbound		 ■ Expo Line towards King George (Terminus) →
C Concourse (North & Rec Centre)  
Concourse (Buses) ATM
S Street (North) Central Ave and City Parkway entrances
Elevator, Compass vending machines and fare gates
Street (Rec Centre) East entrance from City Parkway
Elevator, Compass vending machines and fare gates
Street (Buses) Surrey Central Bus Exchange
Compass vending machines and fare gates

Entrances

Lower concourse of Surrey Central's north stationhouse
  • North stationhouse Disabled access: located at the corner of Central Avenue and City Parkway, the stationhouse provides access to Surrey City Centre Public Library, Surrey City Hall and the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Civic Plaza campus. Renovations on the north entrances started in March 2017 to improve circulation and accessibility and the new stationhouse opened in March 2019.[12][14]
  • Rec Centre entrance (east) Disabled access: located on City Parkway and provides access to downtown Surrey and the North Surrey Recreation Centre. R1 King George Blvd stops are also located in front of this entrance.
  • Bus Exchange entrance (southwest): located within the Surrey Central station bus exchange. An up escalator and stairs connect the bus exchange with the station platform via the concourse. This entrance also serves the Central City shopping centre and SFU Surrey Campus.

Transit connections

The bus exchange is located at the south end of Surrey Central.

Bus bay assignments are as follows:[15]

Bay numberLocationRouteNotes
1 Bus loop Unloading only
2 Bus loop 320 Langley Centre
  • Via Cloverdale
3 Bus loop 335 Newton Exchange
  • Via Guildford
4 Bus loop 501 Langley Centre
509 Walnut Grove
  • PM peak hours only
N19 Downtown
  • NightBus service
5 Bus loop 323 Newton Exchange
  • Via 128 Street
393 Newton Exchange
  • Via 64 Avenue
  • PM peak hours only
5A University Drive
Northbound		 337 Fraser Heights
6 Bus loop 371 Scott Road Station
373 Guildford
7 Bus loop 316 Scottsdale
  • Via 116 Street
325 Newton Exchange
  • Via 140 Street
8 Bus loop 324 Newton Exchange
  • Via 132 Street
326 Guildford
  • Via Fleetwood
9 Bus loop 321 White Rock Centre
321 White Rock South
321 New Westminster Station
  • Some trips extend as "White Rock South"
  • Limited service to New Westminster Station on
    Sundays and holidays only when SkyTrain is not operating
10 Bus loop 503 Fraser Hwy Express to Langley and Aldergrove
11 City Parkway
Southbound		 R1 King George Blvd to Newton Exchange
12 City Parkway
Southbound		 502 Langley Centre
  • Via Fraser Hwy
13 City Parkway
Northbound		 R1 King George Blvd to Guildford
  • RapidBus service
14 City Parkway
Northbound		 314 Sunbury
314 Scott and 96 Avenue
  • Sunbury portion: Monday to Saturday only during daytime
  • Scott and 96 Avenue portion: Evening and Sunday/holiday service
321 Scott Road Station
  • Peak hours only
329 Scottsdale
  • Monday to Saturday only

References

  1. ↑ "2022 Transit Service Performance Review – SkyTrain Stations Summaries". tableau.com. TransLink. April 27, 2023. Archived from the original on May 15, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  2. ↑ "SkyTrain Your City to City Connection" (PDF). The Buzzer. BC Transit. March 11, 1994. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Surrey-Delta-White Rock" (PDF). The Buzzer. British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority. May 23, 1975. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Another 15 routes becoming accessible" (PDF). The Buzzer. BC Transit. September 25, 1992. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Surrey SkyTrain station gets down-to-earth name". Vancouver Sun. December 17, 1992. p. B1. Retrieved June 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Nagels, Jeff (September 11, 2009). "SkyTrain crime falls but surrey stations still worst". The Surrey Leader. ProQuest 373135528.(subscription may be required or content may be available in libraries)
  7. ↑ Skelton, Chad (August 3, 2010). "More than 3,500 crimes plagued Metro's transit system in 2009, data shows". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  8. ↑ Reynolds, Sheila (March 31, 2015). "Transit Watch provides more eyes and ears for police". Surrey Now-Leader. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Newton taking over Whalley's crime reputation". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Surrey Central SkyTrain Station Upgrades Begin". TransLink. Archived from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  11. ↑ Chan, Kenneth (February 22, 2019). "$24-million expansion of SkyTrain's Surrey Central Station now complete (PHOTOS)". Daily Hive. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  12. 1 2 TransLink BC [@TransLink] (March 3, 2019). "[Surrey Central] open now! I hear it's pretty nice! ^LA" (Tweet). Retrieved March 3, 2019 – via Twitter.
  13. ↑ Ward, Robin (September 10, 1994). "Saturday Review column". Vancouver Sun. p. D8. Retrieved June 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Translink Surrey Central Upgrades". Archived from the original on June 28, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  15. ↑ Surrey Central Station Map (PDF) (Map). TransLink. January 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 5, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
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