Leaves cause short-lived fire on Metro Vancouver SkyTrain track (VIDEO)
Commuters had a bit of a surprise on the SkyTrain on Thursday morning when a short-lived fire stopped them in their tracks.
A commuter shared a video of the incident on Twitter and TransLink told Daily Hive that the flames were extinguished reasonably quickly.
“It was extinguished within 10 minutes and regular service has resumed,” said TransLink spokesperson Dan Mountain.
What caused the SkyTrain fire? Leaves, apparently.
#RiderAlert #SkyTrain Expo Line was experiencing eastbound/westbound delays beginning at 9:30 AM due to track issue. The issue has been cleared and service is resuming. Thank you for your patience. ^MR
ā TransLink BC (@TransLink) July 20, 2023
Mountain said that some leaves were caught in the guideway.
The tweet from the commuter suggested that an attendant at Edmonds Station said it was too hot.
Fire on the SkyTrain track between Edmonds and Royal Oak. āItās too hotā, says the attendant at Edmonds Station. #Vancouver #Burnaby #SkyTrain #BC pic.twitter.com/168pARWgXV
ā Erick Ribeiro (@TheErickRibeiro) July 20, 2023
Does this happen often? We asked Mountain.
“Leaves catching fire happens occasionally, it usually lasts a few minutes and has negligible impacts on service.”
Mountain says they aren’t exactly sure how the leaves caught fire but that it was likely that some sparks caused it due to train arcing, “which is common for any trains that run on electricity.”
“We do sweeps every night to keep the guideway as clear of leaves and debris as possible, but leaves can sometimes fall in during the day, especially in areas where the guideway is near trees,” Mountain added.