Vancouver’s brand new Canada Line, the newest service in its existing light, mono rail system known as the Sky Train, opens on August 17, 2009, ahead of its predicted November 2009 launch and in ample time for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games which the city is set to host in February and March 2010.

On the new line, it will take approximately 26 minutes for visitors and locals to travel between the Vancouver International Airport and downtown, and include three stops in downtown. Its modern-look and feel is perfectly at home among the “city of glass,” as Vancouver is often called.

“The Canada Line is something Vancouver has needed for a long time,” notes Louise Bourchier, UK Manager for Tourism British Columbia in London. “We’ve now got a fast, efficient, and economic way for visitors to Vancouver to transfer from YVR into the heart of the city, and get around downtown from there. It’s an absolutely fabulous addition to BC’s biggest city and will be a real asset in transporting visitors during the Olympic Games.”

The early launch of the Canada Line allows for plenty of time to work out any quirks in advance of the world arriving in Vancouver in only 6 months for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, which kick off 12 February, 2010.