WATCH: Track testing now underway on Broadway SkyTrain extension

VANCOUVER — The familiar hum of an old Mark I SkyTrain car filled the air Friday morning as trains rolled up and down a section of the Broadway extension for the first time.

Testing will continue in stages until the line finally opens to the public in Fall 2027.

The route is entirely below ground, save for the first segment west of VCC-Clark.

Government officials, workers, and members of the media were treated to a ride on the train on a portion of track between the existing Millennium Line terminus and the future Great Northern Way-Emily Carr station.

Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson said he was "very happy" to see testing begin on the line that he worked on getting funding for when he was mayor of Vancouver.

For the first round of testing, cars will be driven manually as crews work to ensure all parts of the system are in sync. When that is done, they will move on to the next phase.

"I know people across Vancouver are gonna be thrilled to see this Broadway Subway extension getting further west into one of the busiest transit corridors in North America, if not the world," he added. "This is a huge huge improvement for affordable mobility here in Vancouver."

As of now, the line only goes to Arbutus St. Many have questioned when it will be extended fully to the University of British Columbia.

When asked by Sitka Media, Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth said all levels of government are working together to determine "what it would take" to make that a reality.

"The federal government has invested $19 million, we've invested $19 million in terms of the next planning stages," he said. "TransLink has indicated that in terms of their 10-year capital plan, their 10-year investment plan, they see the extension to UBC being in the second half of that."

Farnworth noted, however, that the focus right now is on the completion of the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain and the Broadway extension.