Human error the cause of five-hour SkyTrain shutdown in Metro Vancouver

Rupert Station, Vancouver SkyTrain (Wikipedia photo)

VANCOUVER — Human error has been identified as the cause of a five-hour service disruption for two SkyTrain lines in the Vancouver area on Monday.

TransLink issued a news release Tuesday saying an electrician installing a new circuit breaker for the Evergreen Line accidentally tripped the main breaker feeding the systems at SkyTrain’s operations centre.

The system-wide breakdown, the second in less than a week, turned off train controls and left thousands of commuters without service at the Millennium and Expo lines.

Many people trapped in the trains on the elevated tracks pried open doors and walked along the narrow sidewalks.

The power outage also prevented TransLink from using the public address system to let customers know what was happening.

Doug Kelsey, TransLink’s chief operating officer, says the trains are reliable 95 per cent of the time but he knows that’s little consolation for customers who were delayed for hours by a significant problem.