White Rock train stop leaves pedestrians crawling under stalled cars | Daily Hive

Unexpected White Rock train stop leaves pedestrians crawling under stalled cars

Witness video shows children and adults crawling under a stalled BNSF train along the White Rock waterfront on Aug. 13, 2025. (Supplied)

A BNSF train came to an unexpected stop along the White Rock waterfront on the evening of Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, and stayed there for about 90 minutes, blocking access to the pier and leaving some pedestrians to make a risky decision.

Cathy Shum, who lives right on the beach, said she heard the train “screech to a halt” around 6:30 pm.

“It doesn’t normally do that,” she told Daily Hive Urbanized.

“When we went for our usual evening walk, we realized it was blocking the pier. People would have been stuck on the other side.”

By then, the promenade was busy with families, runners, diners, and dog walkers enjoying the summer evening.

That’s when Shum saw something she couldn’t believe: people crawling under the train and climbing between cars to get by.

“I think that’s very dangerous to be doing that. You don’t know when the train is going to start up again… the barriers are there for a reason,” she said.

“There was an alternative… maybe an extra 10 or 15 minutes of walking… but at least you’d cross safely.”

Her post on Facebook quickly filled with comments from locals calling the behaviour “stupid,” “horrible,” and “something I’ve never seen in 40 years here.”

Others downplayed the danger, saying a stopped freight train “isn’t going anywhere for a while” and that people were “too uptight these days.”

Shum said it took about half an hour after she arrived for police to show up.

The first BNSF employee appeared shortly after.

“Everybody’s like, ‘Where’s the police?'” she said. “I was out on Marine Drive looking to flag down a police car.”

BNSF told Daily Hive Urbanized the train stopped due to a mechanical issue.

“When deemed safe for the train to continue, it was discovered there was a pedestrian risk, causing the crossing to be blocked significantly longer than it would have been otherwise, out of precaution for public safety,” said Kendall Sloan, BNSF director of external communications.

The company admitted there was some confusion over which police agency was on scene, initially saying Surrey Police before confirming it was White Rock RCMP.

Sloan stressed that people should never try to cross over or under a train.

“Trespassing caused the crossing to be blocked much longer than it needed to be,” she said, adding that barriers are there to prevent tragedies.

BNSF runs safety events in the community throughout the year, including Railway Safety Day at the White Rock Pier and weekly summer patrols with local police to crack down on trespassing and unsafe behaviour along the tracks.

Shum hopes Wednesday night’s close calls serve as a wake-up call.

“Accidents happen. Even if it takes you a bit longer, you’re better off taking the safe route,” she told Daily Hive Urbanized.

Daily Hive Urbanized has contacted White Rock RCMP for more information.

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