SkyTrain

Some say the most significant legacy of Expo 86 is our SkyTrain. It certainly is a fitting legacy for a world’s fair whose full name was World Exposition on Transportation and Communication.

During Expo, the SkyTrain took fairgoers from the Canada Pavilion at Canada Place to the main fairgrounds beside where Science World is located today.

The SkyTrain ― which now runs all the way to Surrey ― is a narrow elevated train. Too narrow, in my mind, as it’s too much of a crush at rush hour. And it’s so narrow that, when you compare it to subway trains like those in Toronto or New York, it feels like you’re riding a toy train.

The SkyTrain is all modern, though. It was the world’s first completely automated (read: driverless) rapid transit system. Daily ridership is around 400,000 passengers.