Straight Talk

Bird's nest catches fire, causing Expo Line SkyTrain shutdown and stranding tens of thousands of commuters

by Charlie Smith on May 22nd, 2015 at 8:18 AM
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      (Editor's Note: After this story was posted, TransLink announced that all transit service is free today.)

      Expo Line SkyTrain service between Joyce and Waterfront is expected to remain closed for this morning and into the early afternoon.

      That's because an accident around 11 p.m. on May 21 burned a cable just east of Main Street Station.

      Transit Police spokesperson Anne Drennan told News 1130 this morning that crews were using a rotary rail grinder to smooth out part of the track last night.

      A spark flew off, igniting a bird's nest beneath the guideway. The brief fire damaged a metre of cable, which now must be repaired.

      Passengers coming from Surrey are being encouraged to transfer onto the Millennium Line at Columbia Station to continue their trip.

      TransLink is also advising transit passengers to take bus service into Richmond where they can transfer onto the Canada Line to go downtown.

      Options include taking the #49 bus from Metrotown Station to the Canada Line, hopping on the #41 or #43 buses from Joyce Station to the Canada Line, or jumping on the #25 bus from Nanaimo Station to reach the Canada Line.

      There are bus shuttles running from Waterfront Station to Joyce Station.

      Comments

      11 Comments

      Tara Sundberg

      May 22, 2015 at 9:34am

      Why didn't they work through the night to repair the one metre of cable? They know tens of thousands of people rely on skytrain to get to work/school every single day. It's like they're trying to sabotage the plebiscite.

      Not Gulible

      May 22, 2015 at 10:18am

      Since Expo over 30 years ago not one Bird's nest fire.

      Today after several stoppages Public Relations makes ans excuse blames a bird nest.

      So they (PR) say look it's not Trans-link’s fault it's that darn Birds nest. LOL

      The Non Binding Plebiscite.

      A 'Yes' vote does NOT give any added capacity it is a small part of the about $8 billion in funding the Mayors are seeking from both the Federal & Provincial Government.

      Neither the Federal nor the Provincial governments have said anything and indeed they are against this specific additional funding as outlined by the Mayors for Transit in BC.

      The governments are funding the building of 'PPP' Private Public Partnerships based infrastructure like Bridges and Tunnels NOT added capacity with Trains and Buses.

      Aka Corporate Welfare so they can turn around and give 30 to 50 Year Tolls contracts to Private Corporations for their profit.

      It seems most people considering a 'Yes' vote think this automatically and/or is likely to provide added capacity, this is simply NOT the case.

      Added Transit capacity is SOLELY dependent on Funding from the Federal and Provincial Governments of at least $8 Billion +++ they have shown ZERO interest in doing this regardless of a 'Yes' vote.

      Indeed a review of Translinks Financial statements and budgets for 2014 show at least $300 to $400 million in waste that can easily be re-directed to increase capacity today!

      Examples.

      - $84 Million allocated in 2014 to Compass to catch at best $5 to $7 million in 'Fare Evasion'

      - Compass will NEVER pay for itself, $15 Million in Operating costs per year budgeted,

      - $20 Million +++ in 'Studies', these can be done for Free or a fraction of this cost by local Colleges or Universities,

      - $32 Million projected possible $50 Million per year for Transit only Police aka $100,000 per year + Fare Checkers when local City Police can and do attend any Emergencies involving Transit,

      Waiting for up to 10 years after a 'Yes' vote for a "Promise" of added capacity is stupid besides most of these politicians won't be around in a few years let alone 5 to 10 years from now.

      A 'Yes' vote is crazy a 'No' vote would force them to bring a better proposal to us the people.

      From Translink

      May 22, 2015 at 11:07am

      Pay no attention to the fact a bird's nest will shut down the entire system; we know what we are doing and you should give us more money in the form of a .5% tax on ever single purchase you make.

      Trust us we have everything under control.

      Soooo

      May 22, 2015 at 12:15pm

      One would think if you're trying to fleece a whole populace for the rest of their money you would have had a crew working overtime to fix said issue seeing as they have a down time between 1am and 6am. That action would sway some on the fence voters but this was a .....

      FAIL.

      NO all the way.

      free transit

      May 22, 2015 at 1:06pm

      is not free for the large number of commuters who use pre-paid passes

      it is just an empty gesture without value to a lot of their customers

      Steve Y

      May 22, 2015 at 3:45pm

      We need Uber in this city if we are to continue to promote public transit. The issue is the system is brittle and there is literally no alternative for people other than to miss work if they don't have a vehicle of their own.

      lament for a nation

      May 22, 2015 at 7:10pm

      Best transit system in the nation? North America? That's not saying much. Look to Asia for a better train setup...

      Yes, but...

      May 22, 2015 at 7:36pm

      How are the birds doing?

      Wilson

      May 23, 2015 at 1:02pm

      It is time to say no to skytrain and yes to hydro buses. The skytrain is expensive, violent and dangerous. The cost of building skytrain bankrupts the rest of system and violence fills the system. Not even drivers of buses are safe. Every year hundreds of peoples throw themselves in front of skytrain.