TransLink has ordered an independent review into a pair of major meltdowns that left SkyTrain riders stranded for hours this month.
Retired Toronto GO Transit CEO Gary McNeil, who helped plan and implement Vancouver’s SkyTrain system, is tasked with assessing TransLink’s disruption response plan and identifying improvements that can be made.
McNeil’s final report, which is expected to be released in October, will also recommend ways to prevent such shutdowns and get the system running more quickly when they do occur.
“Gary’s expertise will be invaluable in helping TransLink improve the way we respond to major disruptions in service, which although rare, are frustrating for our customers,” TransLink CEO Ian Jarvis said in a statement.
TransLink confirmed McNeil will be paid about $1,200 a day for his work on the review.
Jarvis said the transit authority has “learned important lessons” from an internal review of the two incidents, which temporarily halted all service on the Expo and Millennium lines on July 17 and 21, and is already implementing improvements.
The first shutdown was blamed on a computer glitch. The trains stopped moving around noon and remained out of service for about four hours.
The second incident, a power outage blamed on a single technician working on a circuit breaker, also halted SkyTrains for hours while cutting the PA system, preventing staff from communicating with riders.
TransLink said the two shutdowns had nothing to do with each other.
