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Burst pipe due to cold floods SeaBus station, cancelling service for hours

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Sailings across the Burrard Inlet have resumed hours after a pipe burst in the cold weather, flooding one of the two SeaBus stations.

In a brief statement at 4 p.m., a TransLink spokesperson confirmed that regular service had resumed.

Sailings between downtown Vancouver and the North Shore were cancelled for about 2.5 hours due to flooding at Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver.

Passengers who rely on the route weren't given much information initially about what was going on.

In a notice posted around 1:30 p.m., TransLink, which runs the service, said both Lonsdale Quay and Waterfront stations would be "closed until further notice" due to flooding, but gave no further details.

In an email some time later, officials said the flooding was only at Waterfront, and was caused by a burst pipe. They said they believe the pipe burst due to the cold weather.

The transit authority installed a bus bridge between the two stations to replace SeaBus service, shuttling riders across the inlet over the Lions Gate Bridge.

Additional staff members were sent to help guide customers to the additional bus service in place while crews assessed the damage. No information on the extent of the damage had been made public as of 4 p.m., but it appeared it was not significant enough to keep Waterfront Station from reopening.

There was no impact to SkyTrain service at Waterfront.

Video captured by Kristyn V and shared to CTV News showed water pouring from the ceiling near an escalator on the Waterfront Station side. Pools of water could be seen on the floor.

The closures came after TransLink activated its snow plan Thursday morning.

Transit users were warned to expect delays across the system. SkyTrains were operating more slowly than normal because many were being operated manually and some buses had to be rerouted or cancelled due to snowy and icy conditions on local roads.

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