Records of SkyTrain ‘incidents’ chronicle mishaps, near misses behind the scenes
The list of SkyTrain “incidents” last year included a drunk who bounced off a moving train, a scooter and wheelchair that accidentally fell onto the tracks, a passenger who tempted fate to retrieve a cellphone, and maintenance workers scrambling to avoid being run over, according to documents obtained through freedom of information requests.
The documents, obtained by Postmedia from the B.C. Safety Authority, describe an incident on Oct. 28 in which a technician and his partner entered the track area to perform maintenance.
“Moments later, the technicians realized a train was about to enter the station, so they jumped clear onto the centre walkway clear of the guideway,” the documents state.
SkyTrain, which includes the Canada Line, is a fully automated driverless system with technology designed to stop the trains in the event of an intrusion onto the tracks, be it a person or an object such as a backpack.
“The intrusion alarms are definitely a core part of the safety of our system,” TransLink spokesman Chris Bryan said on Monday.
Bryan said that SkyTrain, launched for Expo 86, has never had a collision involving two inservice trains, a record that is “unheard of ” in the industry for a long-running system.
A person on a motorized scooter accidentally drove onto the tracks at Joyce Station injuring himself on Aug. 19.
Fortunately, no trains were present.
On July 24, a vandal placed a “five-gallon” can of paint on the tracks near Edmonds station. “The paint was drawn into the motor, disabling the train.”
A drunk stumbled into a departing train and fell onto the platform on July 22, resulting in a minor head injury.
On June 1, a trespasser fleeing Transit police ran down the tracks and “jumped from the concourse to the ground below.” The person was taken away by ambulance with significant injuries.
On Feb. 20, a man jumped onto the tracks to retrieve his cellphone when the train was in the station. As the train started to leave, the man managed to “press himself against wall to avoid contact” and left the area safely.
A man was walking on the platform too close to a departing train and hit his hand on Feb. 2. He was taken to hospital.
On Jan. 28, a six-car train was proceeding into a storage lane, when one car derailed due to the switch points under the train being reversed. One day earlier, a wheelchair accidentally fell onto the tracks with no injuries or damage.
There were several incidents last year involving a “rail grinder,” which is used to maintain the smoothness of the tracks to increase their lifespan and to reduce noise. The cases include a Sept. 13 derailment due to a switch being improperly aligned, and damage to a section of track on Sept. 15 when the rail grinder stones did not retract before stopping.
On Dec. 21, a train under tow crashed into an unsecured gate, damaging both, and on Nov. 26, a train struck a piece of handrail, damaging the train and causing a piece of metal to fall onto a car parked below.
Several of these incidents may have resulted in train delays, although the public would not have been told of the actual reasons at the time.