The Burnaby Mountain Gondola is a proposed high-capacity transit solution connecting the SkyTrain Production Way-University Station to Burnaby Mountain and the Simon Fraser University (SFU) in British Columbia, Canada.
TransLink envisions that the gondola would provide transit riders with a fast, reliable, and frequent transit connection, where they can avoid traffic congestion on the roadways between the SkyTrain station up to SFU and other surrounding destinations. Currently, transit riders may have to wait for several full buses to pass through the station before they can find a bus with available space to take them to Burnaby Mountain, and then they would have to sit in traffic for additional time, sometimes taking more than half an hour. Instead, passengers can ride the gondola directly to the SFU Exchange Station and then walk the remaining short distance to class, work, or home.
In TransLink’s 10 year plan, they are striving to make transportation easier for the 25,000 trips that take place going up and down Burnaby Mountain every day. The project has been underway since 2020 with technical work and public engagement. As a result of the previous work, a route was endorsed in 2021 connecting SFU, at the top of Burnaby Mountain, with the Skytrain at Production Way-University Station. Currently, the endorsed route is undergoing further technical analysis.
At a length of 2.7 kilometers, the proposed 3S system is planned to provide a transit solution for 30+ years. The proposed system is projected to cost $210 million CAD to build.
Check out more on Translink’s official site.
System Statistics:
| Length (km) | 2.7 |
| Stations | 2 |
| Projected Start of Construction | 2026 |
| Cabin Capacity | 35 |
| Trip Time | 6 minutes |
Image credits: TransLink