VANCOUVER -- Crews worked to clear debris off of train tracks in South Surrey and White Rock Saturday after a significant mudslide stopped freight and passenger traffic Friday night.
Video from the scene of the slide showed tracks near Crescent Beach buried in a thick layer of mud and tree branches dislodged during the storm that brought wind and heavy rain to the Lower Mainland overnight.
Gus Malones, a spokesperson for BNSF Railway, told CTV News Vancouver passenger service between Vancouver and Bellingham, Wash., won't resume until Monday at the earliest.
The company is hopeful that freight trains will be able to resume running sooner, possibly as early as Saturday, Malones said.
Crews brought in a crane to help them remove the rubble more quickly.
An "atmospheric river" brought subtropical moisture from the Pacific Ocean over the B.C. coast Friday night and Saturday morning, dumping as much as 120 millimetres of rain on the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.
Flooding on the island forced the evacuation of some residents in the Cowichan Valley, which was placed under a state of emergency Saturday morning.
Localized flooding was also reported in parts of Metro Vancouver Friday night, with water and sewage pooling on the roadway near the intersection of Highway 10 and 177b Street in Surrey's Cloverdale neighbourhood.
Flood watches and warnings were issued across Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland in response to the storm.
