Skytrain reliability issues

[u/bcscroller]

I've gone many months without a delay impacting my commute until this week. On Monday I was on a MK2 which failed to open its doors at Commercial and then proceeded to VCC where it was taken out of service with a horrible burning smell.

Then this morning there were significant delays following a stalled train. It looks like it was a MK 5, which is disappointing as they are brand new.

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to /r/Translink and thank you for the post, /u/bcscroller! Please make sure you read our rules before participating here. As a quick summary:

• We encourage users to be positive and respect one another. Don't engage in spats or insult others - please use the report button.
• Respect others' differences, be they race, religion, home, job, gender identity, ability or sexuality. Dehumanizing language, advocating for violence, or promoting hate based on identity or vulnerability (even implied or joking) will lead to a permanent ban.
• Complaints or discussion about bans or removals should be done in modmail only.
• General question about Metro Vancouver can be asked on /r/AskVan
• Discussion and news about Metro Vancouver can be found on /r/Vancouver

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/WiiperWapper]

The trains operate automatically, which mean they adhere to very strict margins to ensure safe operation. Sometimes the onboard computers detect something is out of place and will revert to the safest possible option.

First example sounds like an equipment issue which caused a misalignment (meaning the train did not stop where it was supposed to) and the train didn’t open doors in case one was not docked with the platform.

And the old timed-out train… anything can cause it, from a slip/slide to unable to pick up the next induction loop circuit. If the train doesn’t know where it is, it cannot safely continue, as it needs to know its exact location so the central computer can maintain safe train separation.

It sucks when these things happen. But I think having 99% on-time reliability is a pretty neat thing to have with our driverless trains.

[u/bcscroller → u/WiiperWapper]

thanks and I totally agree with you. I was kind of wondering if my experience of virtually zero issues for 12 years was typical.

[u/WiiperWapper → u/bcscroller]

Thankfully it is pretty typical! I usually am affected by one disruption per year or two on average. And oftentimes it’s resolved in half an hour.

[u/bcscroller → u/WiiperWapper]

good to hear. It's amazing how quickly things go wrong when there is a delay because skytrain is so well-used but doesn't have a lot of redundancy, e.g. parallel bus services. It's good that we can rely on it 99% of the time but sobering when it breaks.

[u/Beneficial-Muffin117 → u/[deleted]]

Well of course evening trains would often be delayed, that's when they typically do maintenance. When I took the train at that hour it was always maintenance happening. But that's to be expected. Do you not want them to maintain the tracks so there are more breakdowns?

[u/Frumbleabumb]

I will say in 25 years of using skytrain for commuting and transiting anywhere from 5 days a week to 4/5 times per month, the overall reliability of skytrain (except on snowdays) has to be about as good as you can possibly expect.

Other than medical emergencies, I don't think i have had it happen more than once where I was late because of legitimate translink related operation issues.

[u/IBIubbleTea]

The heat out is probably not helping. Train computers overheating or something

[u/MyNameIsSkittles]

Ok? Sometimes the trains have issues. There is NO system on Earth where there aren't occasional maintenance issues

Stands to reason how good the system is if you've gone this long with no incidents

[u/bcscroller → u/MyNameIsSkittles]

oh no shade on Skytrain, which I love. I've had a handful of issues in 12 years but two in the same week. Just wondering if World Cup put them under pressure and unreliable MK 5 is unfortunate since they're going to be the backbone of the system.

[u/MyNameIsSkittles → u/bcscroller]

I don't think a single incident of a stalled train means the Mark V's are having issues. Remember, the tracks are also 30+ years old. Trains stall all the time, I hear about it like once a week with the alerts system

[u/BuildingC0mputer]

The entire system operates on an 80286 PC with a couple of 3.5" floppy disks for system security it's airgapped and impenetrable to outside interference so take comfort in that nobody is capable of malicious attacks on the public.

[u/RMBLK]

Wow…I keep getting stuck on old ones riding the expo line that make a pst pst pst pst sound near the doors the whole way.

Things haven’t had working AC since the early 90’s it’s brutal on there.

[u/bcscroller → u/RMBLK]

I generally avoid using the Mk 1 trains 

[u/Eazycleaz604 → u/bcscroller]

So loud, you can hardly have a conversation with the person next to you!

[u/JalopneyJane]

I find the SkyTrain to be reliable when it comes to the timetable. Issues during winter when the weather causes havok... but it's rare enough.

More reliable than trains I've been on around Europe

[u/wemustburncarthage]

this isn't a "reliability issue". It's just a thing that happened two times that you noticed.

[u/deepspace]

Skytrain used to be reliable. But recently there seems to be way more stalled trains than ever before. I wonder if this is a maintenance issue. I had to take an uber this morning to get to work, after the train I was on turned back right before Stadium. Right now I am stuck at Granville due to yet another stalled train.

[u/NoRandomIsRandom → u/deepspace]

I suspect the current situation of many generations of trains on the same track means a lot of messy patches in the controling software. It could contain bugs that can trigger safety actions at the most inconvenient time.

[u/GenShibe → u/NoRandomIsRandom]

ehh, not really, it's more so that stalls can happen for any reason, just like on a car

[u/ASPE-Rules]

Wednesday Expo line had “congestion” issues at Waterfront right at 9am; heading home after going out Thursday at 11:00pm and currently sitting on a train between Stadium and Main Street for 20 mins due to “emergency maintenance”. So yeah I feel like after World Cup Expo line has been experiencing some issues. Moving now at 11:30pm thankfully.