As TransLink moves to buy 200 new SkyTrain cars for the Millennium and Expo lines results of a recent public survey are calling for a re-modelled interior.

As TransLink moves to buy 200 new SkyTrain cars for the Millennium and Expo lines results of a recent public survey are calling for a re-modelled interior.

Survey participants favoured leaning rails, bike racks and more flex space for the new fleet — the largest new train car purchase in the transport authority’s history.

Of the approximately 13,500 respondents, forward-faced seating was the most preferred option, but one-third also said they would like to see a return to perimeter (sideways) seating.

Almost 90% of survey takers said they preferred flex spaces with leaning rails (standing room), while another two-thirds support bike racks. Nearly 60% supported doubling flex space from two spaces per train to four.

Flex areas offer open spaces in the interior of the train cars to accommodate riders with strollers, bicycles, mobility devices and luggage.

TransLink is in the process of receiving proposals for the design and delivery of the new train cars with bidding set to close at the end of the year. Whoever wins the bid must consider the results of the survey while at the same time offering designs that maximize the train cars’ overall seating capacity.

The new batch of trains will replace the Mark 1 cars currently in use with the first deliveries expected to hit the rails in 2023.