Problem with overhead wire creates huge disruption on Edmonton’s LRT

Buses were sent in to replace LRT service in south Edmonton Wednesday morning, after a power issue along the main train route.

The city said a strap holding an overhead wire broke, the wire sagged and got caught on the train. The incident put the Capital LRT Line out of service for about 3.5 hours. It was back up shortly before noon.

The affected train was taken out of service for repairs.

Just before 7:30 a.m. the City of Edmonton tweeted that there was a power issue on the southbound LRT from Southgate to Century Park station, so bus replacements were brought in.

That resulted in long lines at transit stations.

‘It’s definitely a bit frustrating,” university student Heather Capel said. “I take the train to the university for work and school every day, and it’s just a mess right now.”

“I don’t always know what the source of the problem is, but I sure wish it was better,” said Nancie Hall, whose daughter takes the LRT to work in downtown Edmonton. Hall said her daughter’s commute often takes longer on the train than on the bus.

The issue also affected traffic along 111 Street. The city said a mechanical issue caused the traffic crossing gates to stay down from the Whitemud to 40 Avenue, so crews called in to lift the gates for vehicle traffic.

“We hope that the city is doing their best, but it’s definitely a frustrating situation for now, especially considering that so many people do rely on public transit to get where they need to go,” Capel said.

View image in full screen

This comes one day after the Metro Line went down during the morning rush. ETS said that technical issues caused the signalling system to go down.

READ MORE: Metro Line LRT goes down during Tuesday morning rush

Mayor Don Iveson said Tuesday an internal investigation is underway to determine what went wrong.

“It is certainly a disappointment and it’s frustrating. I understand people’s frustration with the disruption and hopefully it’s a one-time thing but an internal investigation will determine whether there’s a systemic issue or just a fluke here.”

In June, the City of Edmonton said it hoped to have trains on the Metro Line running at full speed by the fall, in time for the Rogers Place opening at the start of the school year.