This is a follow-up post to a previous post I made here.
The Dunsmuir Tunnel has changed a great deal over the years and is now completely unrecognizable to all but the most trained eye.
The Vancouver tunnel started life as a simple single-track railway tunnel to move passenger and freight trains from the northside of Vancouver to the southside, connecting Canadian Pacific Railway to Canadian National Railway and allowing for train moves under Vancouver. It replaced a railway line that went directly through the crowded city and opened in 1931.
This tunnel was fairly well used but with time traffic decreased. In 1982 it was closed to make way for a new project- the Skytrain.
The Skytrain is a fully automated metro using linear propulsion. This allows the trains to climb steeper grades and have a smaller profile. This smaller profile is essential. By building the Skytrain rolling stock to a smaller profile - just 8 feet tall! - the new system was able to turn the single track tunnel into a double track tunnel by putting one track over the other, thus barely squeezing two tracks and increasing capacity massively on what was otherwise a pretty unremarkable tunnel. Two new stations were built: Granville and Burrard. Both stations have the platforms on top of each other to fit into the tight space. The south portal was closed and the trains were diverted in a short tunnel to Stadium-Chinatown station. It was a genius way to build a metro on the cheap.
Skytrain opened in 1986 and runs fully automated trains at very close headways through the tunnel today. Off-peak has trains running every 3 minutes through the tunnel, a golden standard of frequency that makes waiting for trains a non-problem. Over time, the city was expanded on pillars over the top of the north portal, including a convention center and a mall. The north portal is now completely obscured and can only be seen out the back of a train, as shown in the post image.
The south portal has sadly also been demolished, making way for a Costco. Today the tunnel's purpose has changed. Gone are the steam trains of yore, replaced by something sleek. Something modern. Something automated.
My guess is that it's now a secret tuuuuunneeeeeell through the mountaaaaaaaaaains.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o4EI_-5reA
It's also a small town in California where the Coast Starlight Amtrak route stops. Close to Mt. Shasta.
