Vancouver’s beleaguered Stanley Park miniature train will be back in service for the Christmas season, Mayor Ken Sim has confirmed.
“The Stanley Park train is back. That’s right, it’s back baby,” Sim told a press conference Monday.
“A year ago we committed to bringing swagger back to the city, and it begins by bringing back events, attractions and the things our community loves and celebrates, and the Stanley Park train has been loved by Vancouverites for generations and it will be once again.”
The train has been out of service since September 2022, when it failed an inspection by Technical Safety BC.
Documents obtained by Global News revealed that the regulator found a laundry list of problems with the train.
Those included one engine leaking oil on a brake lining, one locomotive with brakes that were freezing and one with a radiator that was overheating.
Portions of the track were rusty and multiple rail ties were found to have rotted with loose rail spikes. Brake issues were identified with every single passenger carriage.
The city said Monday that it was able to get the train up and running in time for the holidays largely due to the help of multiple donors, who together contributed $500,000 of the $650,000 total bill for repairs.
“We don’t live in la-la land,” Sim said.
“Like households across the city we do have financial limitations and limits on our financial resources at the city of Vancouver, and I really don’t know if the train would have made the cut, probably doesn’t happen, without the financial contributions.”
The train is scheduled to return to action on Nov. 30, with tickets on sale this Thursday.
Park board general manager Steve Jackson said the train will still need to pass a TSBC inspection on Nov. 27 first, but that he was confident there would be no issues.
“Our commitment to safety is utmost in this. We wouldn’t be opening if we didn’t feel the train was safe,” he said.
“We’ve got commitment now to keep the train operational, the work we’ve done this year is going to give us hopefully a good runway here, and we’re looking forward to bringing some additional locomotives online next year as we continue to invest in this asset.”
The train’s return is good news for the Bright Nights fundraiser that operates on site over the holiday season.
The event, which raises money for the BC Professional Firefighters’ Burn Fund, raised just half of its normal total in 2022, with the train out of service.