Prior to SkyTrain's opening, the station served as the western terminus of a short demonstration track during the summer of 1983. A single two-car prototype train ran both eastbound and westbound on the current westbound track, between the station and what was at that time the end of the completed guideway, at the eastern end of the centre median of Terminal Avenue. In December 1985, SkyTrain began service with the station opening as "Main Street station". It was one of two stations that served the Expo 86 site, the other being Stadium station. This station served as an access point to the east gate of Expo 86. It was also the first elevated SkyTrain station to have buildings built around and above it, as seen with the Vancity tower on the west side of the station. Once Expo 86 had ended, many of its buildings were either torn down or removed. One of the few to remain was the nearby geodesic dome, known during the fair as "Expo Centre", and now one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. A science museum known as Science World subsequently moved into that space and, on September 21, 1990, the station's name was hyphenated, becoming "Main Street–Science World" due to its proximity to the popular landmark attraction one block away. Older signage referred to the station as "Science World–Main Street". As part of a plan to upgrade high-traffic stations along the Expo Line, and to enable the addition of fare gates to the station in conjunction with the broader system-wide Compass smartcard initiative, construction began on a major refurbishment of Main Street–Science World in early 2013. In 2014, due to ongoing construction, the platform length was shortened, preventing four- and six-car trains from stopping at the station. As a result, TransLink introduced the Train2Main service, which consisted of a two-car shuttle train that served the station and ran between Waterfront and Commercial–Broadway stations, with longer trains skipping Main Street–Science World during this period. This service ran between March 30 and December 6, 2014. On May 18, 2014, the new east stationhouse opened. Simultaneously, the west stationhouse closed for renovations. Construction work on the west stationhouse was completed on February 5, 2016, and resulted in improved accessibility, passenger safety, and lighting, along with the addition of fare gates months after they had launched at most other stations in the system.
Services
The Main Street–Science World station is a major connection point for the TransLink Main Street trolley bus routes, as well as for the Via Rail and Amtrak trains that arrive and depart from the nearby Pacific Central station
The eastern terminus of both False Creek Ferries and the Aquabus can also be found nearby just south of Science World.
Three restaurants are located within the station complex: Starbucks, A&W, and Tim Hortons. Prior to the opening of Starbucks in the original station house, the same space was occupied by "The Exchange"—a small newspaper/snack outlet that opened in 1986 as part of a retail programme initially set up with the introduction of SkyTrain.
Station information
Station layout
Entrances
West entrance : located at west end of Main Street, serving to Science World and the False Creek ferries. Up and down escalators are available between street and platform levels as well as an elevator.
East entrance : located on the east side of Main Street, beside Thornton Park and in close proximity to Pacific Central Station for long-distance rail and bus services. There is a station house including an elevator and up escalator access from street to platform level.
Transit connections
Transit connections includes local bus routes travelling southbound on Main Street, near the west entrance:
One block north of the station on Main St, southbound near National Avenue:
Community shuttle service from the 23 Davie is also available northbound on Station Street beside Pacific Central station, one block away from the east station entrance. The 23 also stops southbound on Quebec Street, one block away from the west station entrance beside Science World.
The east entrance serves local bus routes travelling northbound on Main Street:
