There will be one fewer West Coast Express trains running into Vancouver for the next while, but the remaining four trains will have extra cars to make up for the loss.
TransLink said Monday that one of the locomotives has an electrical problem that has resulted in the 5:35 a.m. train being cancelled from Wednesday to Friday last week, as well as this Monday, and until further notice.
#WCE Due to mechanical issues, Train 1, 5:25AM departure from Mission City Stn and Train 2, 4:20PM departure from Waterfront Stn will be cancelled from Jan 20-Jan 24. West Coast Express will be adding capacity by increasing the number of cars on our 8 car train to 10. ^MR
— TransLink BC (@TransLink) January 20, 2020
Nevertheless, the remaining four westbound trains running into Vancouver in the morning will keep to their usual schedule with departures from Mission at 5:55 a.m., 6:25 a.m., 6:55 a.m. and 7:25 a.m., but instead will have 10 cars, instead of the usual eight.
Read more: West Coast Express boardings rise 10 per cent in Maple Ridge
“This allows us to maintain the same capacity. We thank our customers for their patience as we work to resolve this,” said spokesperson Jill Drews.
In addition, the second eastbound train leaving Waterfront station in Vancouver at 4:20 p.m., also will be cancelled, until further notice.
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Drews said that the trains should’t be any more crowded that usual because the same number of cars is going to Vancouver.
The train runs only Monday to Fridays, five times during each rush hour. Its frequency hasn’t increased since service began in 1995.
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