The Stanley Park Railway ran its last Christmas excursion on Dec. 13 and will not return in 2024.
The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation temporary halted service on Dec. 14, due to an unspecified safety incident. It took another day for officials to reveal that a driver was overcome by locomotive exhaust. On Dec. 20, park board management cancelled the rest of the Bright Nights train schedule, announcing automatic refunds to ticketholders and discounts for them to visit the Festival of Lights at VanDusen Botanical Garden.
Bob Mackin
The public is still welcome to experience Stanley Park’s dazzling Bright Nights Christmas lights display. Admission is by donation to the B.C. Professional Fire Firghters’ Burn Fund.
How did we get here? A summary of theBreaker.news coverage over the last two years:
Stanley Park Green locomotive (Park Board/FOI)
Feb. 5, 2023: Train in vain: how Stanley Park’s miniature railway stopped rolling
The Stanley Park Ghost Train was cancelled at least five days before the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation made a public announcement on Sept. 20, 2022.
Internal email obtained via freedom of information shows the week after a Technical Safety B.C. inspector failed the park’s 2 kilometre miniature railway, Park Board managers already shifted gears to planning Bright Nights in Stanley Park, despite problems with the rolling stock experienced in early summer.
April 25, 2023: Vancouver Park Board officials concealed Stanley Park train derailment on Easter Weekend
Publicly, the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation blamed a “minor incident” for a one-day cancellation of the Stanley Park Railway’s Easter Train.
But, internal messages obtained under the freedom of information law said what happened on March 29, 203 was serious. Almost a month later, the board says it cost taxpayers $25,000.
Aug. 26, 2024: Logging contributed to Stanley Park Railway derailment
After the Stanley Park miniature train’s Good Friday derailment, a provincial regulator blamed poor track conditions on the logging of three trees and rainy weather.
Technical Safety B.C.’s July 5 report indicated staff did not gauge the condition of the track.
Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation officials originally refused to call the incident a derailment.
Dec. 8, 2024: Another mishap scuttles Stanley Park Railway
Officials announced on X, formerly Twitter, at 5:34 p.m. on Dec. 6 that the train was “temporarily out of service and will not be running for the rest of the evening.”
A City of Vancouver spokesperson originally called it a “minor operational incident.” Pressed further, Angela MacKenzie explained.
“An art display fell onto the tracks during service, which caused the train to stop. As a result, service was stopped to allow staff to carry out safety checks,” said MacKenzie, the associate director of civic engagement and communications.
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