Trolley Overhead On-Street Infrastructure State of Good Repair (SOGR)

in progress

The project includes the replacement of trolley overhead (TOH) infrastructure nearing or past their expected useful life to maintain a state of good repair for the trolley bus service in the City of Vancouver and the City of Burnaby. In operation since 1948, the buses run on TOH infrastructure composed of 320 km of directional parallel running wire supported by approximately 10,765 trolley poles installed along different bus routes. There are cross spans approximately every 30 meters, leading to around 23,000 hanger and ear units holding the running wire network suspended in the air and 48.2 kmof underground cables that brings power to overhead lines for the trolley buses. The integrity of these integrated infrastructure is crucial for keeping trolly buses moving on the streets. Within this TOH infrastructure, there is a backlog of assets that require replacement due to the current condition and age. To maintain a state of good repair, TransLink has initiated a TOH System Replacement project to address this current backlog for project implementation for four years 2023 to 2026 to replace: • Up to 600 steel trolley poles (useful life up to 30 years) • Approximately 60 km of running wire and up to 240 switch assemblies (useful life 60 years) • Approximately 15,000 hanger and ear units (useful life 30 years) • Up to 6,000 m of underground cable (useful life 40-60 years) To ensure these assets remain in a state of good repair, it is more efficient to consolidate them into the same project because most of the inspection and maintenance activities often take place together as a result of high asset interdependency. This project will extend the useful life of the TOH infrastructure by 30-60 years. It supports the Metro Vancouver Mayors’ Vision, and TransLink’s Investment Plan by ensuring that existing infrastructure meets quality and safety requirements, in order to support existing and future ridership, while also reducing GHG emissions.