Unlike the spiral of a cyclotron, the 25-meter-long e-linac accelerates electrons in a straight line. The electrons are transported from the e-linac to the ARIEL electron target via an approximately 100-metre-long electron beamline with 80 unique TRIUMF-designed quadrupole magnets that focus the beam through turns and changes in elevation.

Located in a hall beside the 520 MeV cyclotron, the e-linac is divided into six key sections: the electron source (the electron gun); the low-energy beam transport; the injector cryomodule; the medium-energy beam transport, the accelerator cryomodule; and the high-energy beamline to the target.