As one of the few transit systems in North America operating electric trolleybuses, TransLink has designed its own trucks to de-ice trolley wires. It also had to roll out tire socks and work with manufacturers for a three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) tire on buses that’s best suited for the snow in Metro Vancouver.
TransLink also uses hockey sticks to clear snow and ice build-up from the SkyTrain doors.
“Everybody likes to kid around and laugh at us with our hockey sticks, but it’s super effective,” explained Art Wittich, a vehicle technologist with SkyTrain.
Because snow in Metro Vancouver is uniquely wet, thick and heavy, it can build up between the SkyTrain doors. This can lead to the doors freezing shut between stations, which means customers may not be able to board or disembark at their preferred door.
That’s why SkyTrain technicians use hockey sticks to proactively clear the snow and ice build-up on the doors at Stadium–Chinatown, Commercial–Broadway, Edmonds, Gateway, Production Way–University and Moody Centre stations.
Each station has eight hockey sticks, so at any given time, there’s 48 hockey sticks clearing snow and ice. Trains may be held at stations longer than usual so staff can clear snow and ice from the doors.
Wittich, who joined SkyTrain in 1991 as a tradesperson, says he’s never seen a SkyTrain car where all the doors are frozen shut. The hockey sticks are that effective at clearing snow and ice. And have been for more than 25 years now.
But Wittich recalls it wasn’t always the tool of choice.
He explains during SkyTrain’s early days, ice would be cleared from the doors using a “chunk of aluminum.” It not only didn’t work well, but the aluminum also scratched the paint. Technicians then started using a thin piece of wood but that broke easily. Next, they switched to a thin piece of plastic and it worked well. One caveat though: it hurt the hand, so they started wrapping tape around it.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if it was curved a little bit and then somebody had the brainiac idea. ‘Isn’t this [a hockey stick] what we’re looking for?’ And of course, it is the hockey stick. The hockey stick is perfect,” Wittich said.
It’s now an item that TransLink orders and ensures is fully stocked each winter, along with other winter essentials like snow shovels, salt and sand. The hockey sticks, which are junior-sized street hockey sticks, are cut down so they can fit into the boxes and be stored at SkyTrain stations for rapid deployment.
SkyTrain staff utilize its own store inside the Operations and Maintenance Centre near Edmonds Station.
What’s available in the SkyTrain store runs the gamut. Everything from SkyTrain parts to winter boots and wet wipes. It has everything SkyTrain staff need to deliver a safe and reliable SkyTrain network — including hockey sticks.
Keeping customers moving
The hockey sticks are part of a suite of initiatives to keep customers moving safely and reliably during the winter months and when there is snow.
Like how commuters trade their sneakers for winter boots during the cold months, SkyTrain cars switch out their “shoes” too. Each SkyTrain car has a pair of “collector shoes” at the front and back, which collects electricity from the power rail that runs parallel to the tracks.
TransLink uses a carbon-based shoe April to September, but during the winter months, it is switch out for ones with brass. The brass shoes give better wear during the winter rainy season.
De-icing trains also coat the power rail with de-icing fluid to help melt ice and prevent it from forming. On the Canada Line, they use heat tracing, which warms up the power rail with a wire to help prevent ice-build up.
