History
The station was completed and opened in December 1985, providing a transportation link to Expo 86 being held in the City of Vancouver, and also serving development and shopping districts along the New Westminster Quay. New Westminster Station still serves as a temporary terminus for the Expo Line towards closing hours of revenue service. During the station's period as terminus station, a temporary platform had been built over the westbound guideway with trains thus arriving and departing on the eastbound track.
At its inception, New Westminster Station served as the major transfer point for bus services toward Port Moody, Coquitlam, and Port Coquitlam. After the completion of Millennium Line, this function has been replaced by Braid and Lougheed Town Centre stations in the north.
For a long time, the adjacent city blocks included run down buildings and empty lots, and drug dealers and prostitutes hung around the stairs up to the station. However, a major mixed use development called Plaza 88 is now under construction. The development includes at least 4 high rises, the first three of which are 33, 35 and 37 stories. The 37 floor tower will be the tallest in the city.
The station is currently being retrofitted and redesigned, coinciding with the integration of the station into the new shopping complex being built as part of 'Plaza 88 Project' as well as broader plans to upgrade SkyTrain's Expo Line as put forth by TransLink and the British Columbia Rapid Transit Company (BCRTC).
Read more about this topic: New Westminster Station
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