Rush-hour shutdown of SkyTrain strands thousands of commuters
Frustration and confusion loomed over rush-hour crowds Tuesday when SkyTrain’s Expo and Millennium lines suffered a partial shutdown due to technical issues.
At around 4 p.m., SkyTrain cars on the lines came to a halt carrying rush-hour crowds.
According to SkyTrain spokeswoman Anne Drennan, a “technical issue” caused a SkyTrain car to “time out” and lose communication with a central computer, which meant staff had to individually reconnect each of the cars with TransLink’s main system.
Drennan noted there were some commuters who forcefully exited a stranded train in the Metrotown area, causing an additional 30-minute delay. Any intrusion onto the guideways by a passenger causes an immediate shutdown of the system.
The process of bringing the system back online took until about 6:50 p.m., at which point service was resumed.
While Expo Line trains were still running between Edmonds and King George, and Millennium Line trains between Columbia to VCC-Clark during the partial shutdown, there was no service departing Waterfront Station, leaving thousands stranded during Tuesday afternoon’s rush hour in downtown Vancouver.
Shuttle buses were also put into place, but the scene in Waterfront remained chaotic Tuesday as commuters were told to find alternate routes.
Sean O’Toole, a 23-year-old Coquitlam resident, was among the many commuters trying to find alternate routes home.
“This happens every week. I got stuck two weeks ago, I was stuck a month ago, I’m stuck at least once a month for hours,” said O’Toole. “They keep putting up more and more signs about how this is the best transit in the world or in B.C. or whatever — I don’t believe in transit, period.”