Bad news for anyone who wanted to ride the Stanley Park Easter Train this weekend: due to some damage on the track, the train won’t be running on Saturday.
According to the Stanley Park Railway, the closure is due to a “minor incident” that caused damage to a section of track Friday evening during routine closedown procedures when the train was being moved to overnight storage.
“Preliminary assessments suggest that the damage is minor,” the Vancouver Park Board said in a statement.
“With the safety of staff and guests as our top priority, the train will be closed on Saturday to allow maintenance by contractors and a thorough safety inspection by Technical Safety BC.”
The train had reopened just a few months ago in time for Christmas after several years out of commission. It had been cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, then again in 2021 due to the threat of coyotes in the park. Mechanical issues caused its cancellation in 2022.
When Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim announced the reopening back in November, he said there had been challenges fixing the train, including issues around funding, and a shortage of essential parts due to supply chain issues.
Tickets for Stanley Park Train’s Bright Nights over the Christmas holidays sold out online within 90 minutes of going on sale. However, many people on social media complained that trains were being sent out with fewer than half of the seats filled. This prompted many on social media to request the ability to buy tickets on site rather than just online.
The train ride around the park travels across 2 kilometres of track and takes about 15 minutes.
Ticket holders for Saturday will be automatically refunded through the ShowPass account used to buy the ticket. Sunday and Monday ticket holders also have the option to request a refund through ShowPass.