UPDATED: SkyTrain Canada Line shut down due to fire

UPDATE at 3:01 p.m.: Normal train service has resumed on the Canada Line. TransLink has released the following statement:

While our crews worked hard to restore full service, a shuttle bus was put in place at impacted stations to pickup or discharge passengers. All passengers were safely evacuated from the stalled train.‎ No reported injuries.

SkyTrain service on the Millennium and Expo Lines was unaffected and running normally. Additional security and Transit Police were at the stations to ensure passenger safety.

We thank our passengers for their patience and apologize for this inconvenience.

UPDATE at 2:44 p.m.: A shuttle train is running between YVR Airport and Bridgeport stations and Richmond-Brighouse and Bridgeport stations.

UPDATE at 2:30 p.m.: There is now train service between YVR Airport and Templeton stations as well as Oakridge-41st Avenue to Marine Drive stations. A bus bridge shuttle has been formed between Marine Drive, Bridgeport and YVR stations.

EARLIER:

Train service on SkyTrain’s Canada Line is currently being suspended just before the North Arm Bridge over the Fraser River.

At approximately 1:30 p.m. this afternoon, train service stopped between Marine Drive Station in Vancouver and Bridgeport Station in Richmond due to reports of a fire.

Train service is still running between Waterfront and Oakridge-41st Avenue stations, but all train service has stopped south of Oakridge: No trains are running to Richmond-Brighouse and YVR Airport.

Passengers are also being evacuated from a broken train. Firefighters are at the scene at Marine Drive Station.

A bus bridge shuttle service is being formed between Marine Drive and Bridgeport stations.

This is the second fire incident on the Canada Line in just over a year. On December 20, 2014, an electrical fault caused a train fire just outside Aberdeen Station in Richmond.

The Canada Line is owned by TransLink but operated and maintained privately by ProTransBC, a subsidiary of SNC Lavalin – the Montreal-based company that designed and built the train system. This SkyTrain line is independent from TransLink’s British Columbia Rapid Transit Company, which operates the Expo and Millennium lines.

ProTransBC is financially penalized by TransLink if it does not meet performance standards, which includes major delays due to technical failure.

Videos of the December 20, 2014 train fire

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