SkyTrain service between Columbia and Scott Road stations was finally restored on Tuesday evening, a day after a train was partially evacuated from the track, causing a stop.
A TransLink spokesman told CBC around 8pm on Tuesday that track problems at the Expo line had been resolved and regular service was resuming, although there may be some gaps in the service. .
Prior to that, dozens of bus bridge shuttles were carrying frustrated SkyTrain passengers to and from Surrey across the Fraser River.
Lally Dol, a barber who works near Columbia Station, said he saw groups of passengers moving between trains and buses.
“Everyone is working hard, making sure people get home. And that’s what matters, right?”
On Monday night, TransLink crews removed dozens of passengers from a partially evacuated SkyTrain from its route between Scott Road and Columbia stations.
TransLink attributes the derailment to a switch that failed shortly before 8 p.m.
Metal debris was shaved from the SkyTrain rails before Scott Road station when the train service between Columbia and Scott Road was stopped. (Edward Wong @ edwardiswong / Twitter)
“SkyTrain safety protocols were started immediately and passengers were safely removed from the train within 10 minutes. Since then, crews have inspected other switches in the system and made sure they are operating safely and smoothly.” said TransLink.
No one was injured.
Edward Wong was one of the escorted passengers to get off the stopped train on Monday evening. He remembered seeing the train tilted a foot as he stopped screaming.
“I heard a loud bang and some screams from the track. I immediately heard the train turn to the right side and my shoulder hit the side of the wagon while I was sitting.”
The video shared by Wong online shows passengers walking in single rows down the runway with visible metal shavings scattered along the route.
Returning on foot! pic.twitter.com/28kh9fmBcP
– @edwardiswong
The images also show metal debris dislocated from the rail along the site of the damage.
“About 20 meters behind, where the shavings ended, there was a concrete partition that had clearly been hit by the train,” Wong said. “It was crazy how it all happened, but we all came out alive in one piece.”
TransLink bus shuttles carry SkyTrain passengers between Columbia and Scott Road stations. (Gian-Paolo Mendoza / CBC News)
TransLink is investigating how the train was evacuated
TransLink told CBC that it will conduct a technical review to assess the damage. He says this is the first time a SkyTrain has been partially evacuated from its track.
“There could be a number of mechanical reasons why a switch fails,” said spokeswoman Tina Lovgreen. “Until we do this overhaul, we won’t know exactly what caused this particular switch failure.”
Lovegreen said crews inspected all other train switches.
“They made sure everyone was safe and there was no problem with them.”