A computer glitch shut down SkyTrain service for two hours Wednesday morning. The trains are now up and running.
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By Jeff Nagel - Surrey North Delta Leader
Published: October 15, 2008 12:00 PM
Updated: October 15, 2008 12:51 PM
SkyTrain service ground to a near complete halt for two hours Wednesday morning, causing delays for thousands of people still on their morning commutes.
Seventeen trains were shut down automatically at 9 a.m. and normal service wasn't restored until 11 a.m.
TransLink officials said the central computer system halted the automated trains because it had lost track of their locations – a safety measure intended to prevent collisions.
The problem was traced to an electric motor on one train that had "timed out" and lost contact with the central computer. The glitch caused the other 16 trains to also time out.
Officials say the troublesome train has been taken out of service and technicians are confident a repeat incident is highly unlikely.
Spokesman Drew Snider said such incidents in the past have usually only affected one or two trains.
SkyTrain atttendants board and manually reconnect each train to the computer system to restore service.
SkyTrain service was able to largely continue on a portion of the Millennium Line and service had been restored between Surrey stations and New Westminster after one hour.
jnagel@surreyleader.com
