UPDATE: West Coast Express trains set to resume Friday afternoon. READ MORE >
TransLink has cancelled the West Coast Express trains into Vancouver Friday morning as pipeline protests continue along the CP Railway tracks.
“Protesters are currently blocking Canadian Pacific tracks on the Pitt River rail bridge and we are unable to move trains, conduct necessary maintenance safety checks, and perform routine inspections this evening,” TransLink said late Thursday.
Read more: Pipeline protests stop West Coast Express
To help people during the Friday morning commute, TransLink is setting up a bus bridge from Mission to Coquitlam Central Station, where people can then catch the SkyTrain. However, no details of the extra bus service have been provided. “Please note that buses are expected to be busier than normal,” TransLink said. Bus riders are advised to use TransLink’s online Trip Planner and find alternate ways of transportation.
#WCE morning service leaving Mission City Stn Friday Feb 14 is suspended due to protesters blocking the railway, a bus bridge will operate from Mission to Coquitlam Stn. Buses are expected to be busier than normal. We ask that customers try & seek alternative modes of travel.^jd
— TransLink BC (@TransLink) February 14, 2020
Eastbound trains from Vancouver to Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge and Mission were also cancelled on Thursday afternoon, after people blocked the tracks just west of the Pitt River rail bridge near the Mary Hill Bypass.
In a news release Thursday, Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Liberal candidate Cheryl Ashlie said, “It is unacceptable that residents of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows will not be able to get home via the West Coast Express tonight.”
“Thousands of hardworking British Columbians depend on the WCE to get to and from work in downtown Vancouver every day. These radical activists have been able to disrupt our lives thanks to the lack of leadership from (Premier) John Horgan and his NDP government,” Ashlie said.
Ashlie said that Horgan is not doing his job but did not offer specifics.