Documents reveal funding issues, safety concerns for shuttered Stanley Park train

Damaged brakes, rusted tracks and lose spikes securing rails to the ground are just some of the problems that forced regulators to shut down Stanley Park’s beloved miniature train.

The new details were revealed in documents obtained by Global News through a freedom of information request, that show just how badly degraded the popular attraction was before it was taken offline last year.

Following an inspection in September 2022, Technical Safety BC ordered the train be shut down due to significant safety issues, and ordered an assessment by an independent engineer.

1:48 Vancouver Park Board surprised train failed inspection

Since then, it has been out of service for several key events, including the annual Ghost Train, Bright Nights and attendant Firefighters Burn Fund fundraiser and Easter.

According to internal Vancouver Park Board emails, issues with train maintenance appear to stretch back more than a decade.

The train had a dedicated maintenance person for more than 30 years. That ended in 2012 when the worker retired and maintenance was folded into the city’s Fleet and Manufacturing Services, a massive department that oversees thousands of city vehicle.

Problems soon cropped up, with FMS superintendent John Pezzolesi writing on one email that the train’s four ageing engines came with “no documentation of any kind,” and “no history of parts purchased, maintenance done, or what repairs were done to any of the units.”

Labour and funding also appear to have been major issues.

“Right from the start, there was very little to no maintenance budget to service these trains,” Pezzolesi wrote.

“We have discussed on a few occasions late 2018/early 2019 with Parks … for future budgeting to no avail. We repaired units as required, when required.”

2:46 Loss of the Stanley Park train for Bright Nights a blow to charity

The email adds that the department had seen a staff shortage for “many years” making it hard to get crews out to work on the trains in the face of “more priority units” from other departments needing work, and that staff availability hit an “all time low” in the wake of COVID-19.

Acting park board general manager Steve Jackson insisted that the city has always focused on preventive maintenance, but said the train’s maintenance schedule was derailed by the pandemic. He told Global News we wasn’t aware of any funding requests being turned down.

“Many assets, again, we would love to maintain them at tip top conditions, we do have to make priority decisions every day whether its the train or a truck or a fire engine and what have you,” he said.

“I’m not personally aware of any situations where we’ve gone to request money to maintain the trains in a more significant fashion where that’s been declined.”

Jackson instead pointed to the train’s six-decade age as the key issue, with its manufacturer no longer stocking key parts, and maintenance work becoming progressively less effective on old components.

The train’s ageing locomotives, passenger cars, rails and tracks were, according to Technical Safety BC, in concerning condition.

According to the regulator’s full report, also obtained by Global News, outlined a laundry list of issues that would need attention before the train could get back in service.

The report found the train’s black engine had “excessive oil leaking on a brake lining which could (pose) fire hazard during operation” while the Green locomotive’s “brakes were not releasing after being applied” and the red locomotive had “overheating and radiator issues.” The fourth, blue locomotive was already out of service at the time of inspection.

Portions of the track were rusty, “multiple” rail ties were rotten and some of the spikes that held the rails in place were loose

“Observed excess rust and corrosion on track lower surface, spike heads not contacting track rail allowing movement as train pass over,” the inspector wrote in one note.

2:04 Stanley Park train condition under assessment

It also observed excessive wear on multiple undercarriages, and brake issues with every single passenger carriage.

“I don’t think it’s a report that any of us feel good about,” Jackson said.

“Again there are so many pressures on our system, at times we can’t prioritize everything. There’s not any situation I can point to where we de-prioritized the train, but we’ve been making do with what we have, the assets we have, the resources we have whether its labour, money, parts.”

Jackson said the city immediately shuttered the trains after they failed their safety inspection.

But when pressed on the fact they had been carrying passengers just a short time before that failure, he acknowledged there could have been risks.

“I don’t disagree in terms of there being a risk, but again, we rely on that safety report, we rely on those inspections, if we were told this is unsafe to operate we would not operate,” he said. “And as soon as we knew we were offline.”

Exactly when the trains will be back in service remains unclear.

Jackson said the city has put in a crucial part order to get one of the locomotives back in action, with the goal of having it moving some time by the fall or winter.

That could mean in time for the Halloween Ghost Train, but more likely would see it in service in time for the holiday Bright Nights event, he said.

0:41 Off the rails: Stanley Park Ghost Train cancelled for 2022

There’s also the outstanding question of cost. Jackson estimated with parts and labour each locomotive would cost at least $300,000 to get back in service.

In the long run, he said the city will need to have conversations about potentially replacing the equipment, either with a modern rail gauge and parts that can more easily be maintained, or with a new electric system.

“We’re going as fast as we can, and as soon as the train is fixed we’ll be looking to open with whatever we can open with,” he said.

“To be honest we just want the train functioning, we want to see the smiling faces again, we want staff to be enjoying their time here and not worrying about a broken train.”