Close X
Friday, September 20, 2024
ADVT 
National

West Coast Express commuter trains resume Monday as rail staff ordered back to work

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 26 Aug, 2024 03:32 PM
  • West Coast Express commuter trains resume Monday as rail staff ordered back to work

Metro Vancouver's transit authority says the West Coast Express commuter train service shut down last week due to the Canada-wide rail stoppage will resume operations this week.

TransLink issued a statement saying services will resume their normal schedules starting Monday, although there may be some delays "due to freight traffic backlog."

The commuter rail line linking Mission, B.C., and other Fraser Valley communities to downtown Vancouver has been shut down since Wednesday night due to the lack of rail traffic controllers on the Canadian Pacific Kansas City tracks the service uses.

On Saturday, the Canada Industrial Relations Board imposed binding arbitration in the dispute between workers and the country's two major railways, Canadian National and CPKC, ordering thousands of rail employees back to work.

The resumption comes as another TransLink service, the door-to-door HandyDART, narrowly avoided a strike. Workers suspended job action that may have resulted in a strike Monday in order for union members to vote on a final contract offer from employer Transdev Canada.

Lower Mainland communities such as Maple Ridge served by the West Coast Express train lamented last week's operational disruptions, citing residents heavy dependence on rail and other transit services to get to and from work.

MORE National ARTICLES

Ottawa calls $8-million price tag for animal captivity bill speculative, premature

Ottawa calls $8-million price tag for animal captivity bill speculative, premature
The estimated costs are largely associated with building and administering a new data system to keep track of the animals. Right now, there are 23 elephants and about 30 gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans. The federal government called the conclusion speculative, noting it is based on legislation that hasn't even passed yet. 

Ottawa calls $8-million price tag for animal captivity bill speculative, premature

Fight brewing at CRTC over first Online News Act payment by Google

Fight brewing at CRTC over first Online News Act payment by Google
A new fight is playing out at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission over the first $100-million annual payment Google agreed to pay Canadian news outlets.  The Canadian Journalism Collective, the group tasked by Google to distribute the money to news outlets, has submitted plans for its governance structure to the CRTC. 

Fight brewing at CRTC over first Online News Act payment by Google

B.C. judge refuses cash award to claimant who takes part in 'underground economy'

B.C. judge refuses cash award to claimant who takes part in 'underground economy'
A provincial court judge in Surrey has thrown out a small claims case between a lumber company and a fence building firm over an "unlawful scheme" between the two to avoid paying GST and PST.  The principal of Top Quality Lumber Ltd., Amarjit Dhaliwal, told the court in June that H & R Fencing owed his company almost $21,000, but H & R's owner said it was closer to $4,000 in unpaid bills. 

B.C. judge refuses cash award to claimant who takes part in 'underground economy'

B.C. wildfires holding steady at about 350 with lightning in the forecast

B.C. wildfires holding steady at about 350 with lightning in the forecast
A statement from the First Nation outside Vernon on Thursday says BC Wildfire Service personnel were working to maintain guards around the seven-square-kilometre Hullcar Mountain blaze while helicopters douse it with water. The blaze is one of nine wildfires of note in the province, meaning the fires are either highly visible or pose a threat to public safety and infrastructure.

B.C. wildfires holding steady at about 350 with lightning in the forecast

B.C. appoints new chief coroner, while overdose health emergency lingers

B.C. appoints new chief coroner, while overdose health emergency lingers
The British Columbia government has appointed Dr. Jatinder Baidwan as the province's new chief coroner following the retirement of Lisa Lapointe earlier this year. The Ministry of Public Safety says in a statement that Baidwan takes on the role after serving as the chief medical officer for the BC Coroners Service since 2017.

B.C. appoints new chief coroner, while overdose health emergency lingers

Assault on hijab wearing woman

Assault on hijab wearing woman
Police in Metro Vancouver say they're investigating an assault on a woman wearing a hijab as a possible hate crime. New Westminster Police say they received a report of an assault inside a fast-food restaurant at about 10 o'clock Sunday night.

Assault on hijab wearing woman