British Columbia

SkyTrain electrical fire disrupts service in Richmond

A large electrical discharge under the car of a Canada Line SkyTrain shut down service between Aberdeen and Richmond-Brighouse Saturday afternoon.

YouTube video shows large electrical discharge under Canada Line car

SkyTrain service between Aberdeen and Richmond-Brighouse stations was shut down Saturday afternoon due to an electrical fault on a Canada Line car. (CBC)

A large electrical discharge under a Canada Line SkyTrain car in Richmond shut down service between Aberdeen and Richmond-Brighouse stations shortly before 3 p.m. PT Saturday afternoon.

"The Canada Line is on fire," said Robin Leung as he tweeted a picture of a smoking car on the guideway.

A video uploaded to YouTube shows a brief but sizeable electrical discharge underneath the car followed by smoke rising.

Shortly afterwards, TransLink issued a news release that said it had identified a problem train at the Aberdeen Station. TransLink did not say there had been a fire nor whether any passengers were on the problem car at the time.

it identified the problem as an "electrical short."

TransLink said it was putting a bus bridge in place for passengers wishing to travel between Aberdeen and Richmond-Brighouse stations.

Canada Line service from the Airport to Waterfront station was unaffected.

TransLink sent crews to the scene to fix the problem and to assist passengers.