Stanley Park's popular Easter Train officially cancelled for the spring

Just a few months after issues in the park forced the cancellation of the Ghost Train and Christmas Train, another popular Stanley Park Railway event has been cancelled.

The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation announced today that the Stanley Park Railway Easter Train has been cancelled for 2023

The park board stated that the highly anticipated event had to be paused due to needed repairs.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Stanley Park Railway (@stanleyparkrailway)

You might also like:
• A huge puppy party is coming to Vancouver and it's FREE to attend
• North Vancouver’s FREE Shipyards Night Market returns this spring
• A FREE Earth Day family festival will rock out in Surrey next month

“The Park Board understands the desire for an Easter Train event in Stanley Park, but unfortunately, this event has been paused this year due to ongoing repairs following a recent assessment,” said the park board statement.

“That being said, a recommissioning plan to put the train back on track for late spring or early summer has been proposed, and a comprehensive timeline for repairs and regular train operations will be shared with the public as soon as possible.”

Stanley Park Railway Easter Train/Instagram

In a September 2022 press release explaining last fall’s Ghost Train cancellation, the Vancouver Park Board stated the problems relate to “mechanical issues affecting the antique engines and passenger cars,” and that the trains did not pass a recent safety inspection by Technical Safety BC.

The Park Board further stated at the time that the trains are more than six decades old, and “require unique and hard-to-access parts, in addition to highly specialized service and maintenance.”

Stanley Park Railway Easter Train/Instagram

In response to an inquiry from Daily Hive Urbanized in November, Technical Safety BC suggested the issues go beyond the state of good repair of the mechanical train.

Technical Safety BC listed “corrosion and damage to both track lines and railcars,” and “overgrown vegetation disrupting sightlines and decaying infrastructure” in providing further background on the “main safety concerns,” This is in addition to the requirement of a full condition report from an independent contractor certified to inspect this type of train.

Stanley Park Railway/Facebook

The park board has also offered up some alternative Easter fun events that disappointed Stanley Park Easter Train fans can check out. They include egg hunts, an Easter carnival, Breakfast with the Easter Bunny, and more.

With files from Amir Ali and Kenneth Chan