Millennium Line UBC Extension (UBCx)

Alignment

The extension would continue the Millennium Line about 7 km west from Arbutus, the terminus of the Broadway Subway, which is due to open in late 2027. The regional base scope endorsed by TransLink’s Mayors’ Council in 2022 has four stations: Macdonald and Alma on West Broadway, Jericho on the Jericho Lands, and UBC near the trolley bus loop at University Boulevard and East Mall. The Jericho Lands are a 90-acre site that the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations own jointly and plan to redevelop. TransLink’s earlier concepts put the line mostly or entirely underground, while its cost range depended on how much would be elevated and how much below grade. The provincial business case will set the final alignment, tunnel portals, and station locations, so the map shows only an indicative route.

Until the extension is built, the 99 B-Line bus will keep running between Arbutus and UBC. TransLink estimates a SkyTrain extension would roughly halve travel time between Commercial–Broadway and UBC, saving more than 20 minutes per trip, and would carry about 130,000 people a day by 2050. UBC expects the line to support new housing at the Jericho Lands, in the University Endowment Lands, and on campus.

Updates

2026-10 — Conservatives win B.C. election without a UBC commitment

The B.C. Conservatives under Lorne Doerkson won 64 of 93 seats in the October 24 snap election, ending NDP government. Premier David Eby had promised that a re-elected NDP government would extend the Millennium Line to UBC, and the Greens’ platform included it. The Conservatives’ platform backed SkyTrain expansion where ridership justifies it but did not name UBC. At the time of the election, the Province was advancing detailed design, technical analysis, the business case, and a funding strategy, and was in talks on funding with UBC, MST (the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh partnership), the federal government, and others.

2026-04 — UBC poll shows 76% support across Metro Vancouver

A UBC-commissioned Research Co. poll found 76% of Metro Vancouver respondents supported the extension and 11% opposed it. UBC projects that by 2045 its central station would see about 10,000 arrivals an hour in the morning peak. It says a shortened 99 B-Line from Arbutus would have a practical capacity of only 2,250 people an hour, while about 4,000 people are expected to get off at Arbutus in the morning peak once the Broadway Subway opens.

2026-01 — Students mark 18 years since the first commitment

The UBC Alma Mater Society held a protest “birthday party” marking 18 years since the 2008 provincial pledge to bring SkyTrain to UBC by 2020. The Province’s business case, which began in 2023, costs about C$40 million, including C$14 million from the federal government, and could be finished in the third or fourth quarter of 2026. Geotechnical drilling along the route was completed in 2024. The Province has given no construction cost estimate, and the regional 10-year plan does not expect construction to start before the early 2030s.

2022 — Province takes over planning from TransLink

In April 2022 the Mayors’ Council approved the regional base scope with four stations and listed the extension as a priority in Transport 2050: 10-Year Priorities. In fall 2022 the provincial Ministry of Transportation took over leadership of the project from TransLink, and it has since led design, technical analysis, the business case, and the funding strategy.

2021-05 — Public engagement shows 92% support

TransLink surveyed more than 15,000 people in April and May 2021, and 92% supported extending SkyTrain to UBC.

2019-01 — TransLink recommends SkyTrain to UBC

A TransLink study recommended an underground SkyTrain extension of about 7 km west of Arbutus, with about a 10-minute trip from Arbutus to UBC. It estimated C$3.3–3.8 billion in 2018 dollars, or C$4.1–4.8 billion with inflation to a 2030 completion, including 40–60% contingency. It forecast 118,800 daily boardings between Arbutus and UBC by 2045.