Latest news with #StanleyParkTrain
Global News
09-07-2025
- General
- Global News
For 1st time in 26 years, BC Fire Fighters Burn Fund will not operate with Stanley Park train
For the past 26 years, the BC Professional Fire Fighters Burn Fund has held a fundraiser in Stanley Park alongside the Bright Nights Christmas Train. 'This is the first year that it won't operate with the train in Stanley Park,' Jeff Sauvé, executive director of the Burn Fund, told Global News. On Tuesday, the Vancouver Park Board announced that the Stanley Park train will remain out of operation for the rest of 2025 due to extensive and costly repairs needed. Sauvé said that while they had an inkling that the train would be unlikely to run this year, they found out on Tuesday along with everybody else. He added that the annual fundraiser makes up a big part of their budget for the year. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'But now it's about pivoting and finding a solution,' Sauvé said. Story continues below advertisement At its peak, he said the Bright Nights at Stanley Park fundraiser, where thousands of lights are strung up around the mini train station and people riding the train make a donation to the park, raised up to half a million dollars. They also received a percentage from the train sales. About 800 firefighters spend about a month putting up all the lights and displays. 0:38 Future of Stanley Park Train remains unclear 'Last year it was about half of what our traditional fundraising would be,' Sauvé said, totalling about $200,000. The Stanley Park Christmas Train did run at the beginning of last season but it was halted on Dec. 13 after one of the train's engineers became sick due to exhaust fumes from one of the locomotives. Sauvé said they are sure one of their partners will step up and they will figure out another fundraising venture. Story continues below advertisement 'At this point, there hasn't been any discussion of what the future of the train will look like,' he added.
Global News
08-07-2025
- General
- Global News
Stanley Park Train to remain closed for the rest of 2025
The Stanley Park Train will remain off the rails for the rest of 2025. The train has not been operational since Dec. 13, when exhaust from one of its locomotives caused a driver to become ill and require medical attention. At a Park Board meeting on Monday night, staff said they will explore a range of potential new and creative operating and business models for the railway site. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy It is a popular site for the annual Vancouver firefighters' Burn Fund charity, which has relied on the event in the past to raise money. At this time, it has not been disclosed if that fundraiser will remain at that location. As for the train, staff said that a preliminary analysis shows that 'full renewal of the train and the ancillary buildings and amenities could require substantial capital investment. Alternative operating models, including some form of partnership or third-party operation, could lead to a revitalized, reimagined attraction that would reduce the reliance on tax dollars to return the site to operation.' Story continues below advertisement There will be a formal call for requests for expressions of interest beginning later this year.
CTV News
08-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Stanley Park Train won't return this year, and maybe never will
The beloved and beleaguered Stanley Park Train will remain closed for the rest of the year. The beloved and beleaguered Stanley Park Train will officially remain off the tracks for the rest of 2025 – meaning no Halloween or Christmas route – and the City of Vancouver is deliberating the future of the attraction. The 1960s-era locomotive was halted early last holiday season after a worker got sick from exhaust fumes, adding to a long list of reasons the attraction has operated only sporadically over the past five years, including mechanical problems, the pandemic, and coyotes. In a presentation to the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation Monday, staff said the train is at the end of its life, and therefore repairs are becoming more frequent and expensive. The Stanley Park Train lost $2.9 million from 2019 to 2024 and about $700,000 this year, according to the report. The situation as it stands poses safety, financial, reputational, and operational risks, the park board heard. Staff presented three possible options for the future of the site on Monday, which include electrifying and fixing the current train, replacing the train and its tracks, and creating a new attraction entirely with a third-party partner. 'Preliminary analysis shows that a full renewal of the train and the ancillary buildings and amenities could require substantial capital investment,' reads a Tuesday news release from the City of Vancouver. 'Alternative operating models, including some form of partnership or third-party operation could lead to a revitalized, reimagined attraction that would reduce the reliance on tax dollars to return the site to operation.' Fixing or replacing the train would cost about $8 million and would garner the lowest financial returns, staff told the board. Meanwhile, the report said the city has received 'multiple proposals' from businesses to build something new, and claimed that would lead to more revenue and more visitors, including tourists. Park Board Commissioner Scott Jensen told CTV News he'd most like to see the train remain in Stanley Park, but will keep an open mind and wants to hear what residents prefer. The presentation indicated ticket prices at an externally operated site could go up to $45. Staff anticipate an increase in prices if the attraction remains at the status quo as well, up to $20. 'I would want to look at what is going to be the best fit for that space that lets the most people have access to it, you know, some parks should not be for some and exclude others,' Jensen said. The specifics of keeping the train in action or remaking the site with a new business model remain up in the air. Consultation on the options is expected to begin this quarter and a call for expression of interest will launch later this year. Park board staff are expected to present further findings in early 2026. 'As part of their report, staff will bring forward proposed strategies for engaging key interest holders and the public, as appropriate, on any changes to the train and its site,' the city's statement reads.
CBC
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Stanley Park Train will be off the rails for 2025
Social Sharing It'll be another year off the rails for the popular Stanley Park Train ride, with park board staff citing safety concerns and the hefty costs of running the attraction. The train saw over 90,000 visitors in 2024 before it was derailed indefinitely on Dec. 13, after one of the train's drivers needed medical attention, having fallen ill due to exhaust from one of the train's locomotives. Now, staff say it won't be running in 2025, either. In its various iterations — such as the Halloween-themed Ghost Train and the Christmas event Bright Nights in the Park — the train has been a popular draw for families. Around 23,000 tickets were snapped up within 90 minutes of sale for the Bright Nights event in 2023, the first following a two-year hiatus. But on Monday, Vancouver Park Board staff revealed the future of the train is in jeopardy as the attraction has lost them hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. "Taken together, there are a host of risks associated with the Stanley Park Train right now," said John Brodie, the director of business services for the park board. He said those risks include the safety of operators, the financial burden and the reputational damage to the park board, given the regular closures of the train. The official said staff estimated the train would lose the park board $700,000 this year, and it had lost nearly $3 million in the last five years. WATCH | Future of Stanley Park Train uncertain: Stanley Park Train will be derailed for the rest of 2025 9 hours ago Duration 1:13 There are more questions about the future of the Stanley Park Train. As Amelia John reports, park board staff revealed Monday the popular Vancouver attraction will remain out of service for the rest of the year. Park board staff said they had received a series of third-party proposals, regarding sponsoring or donating to the train, which could change the ride's appeal to be more centred around tourists. "There's a lot of interest from external partners to reimagine the Stanley Park Train site," Brodie said. "It's in a prime location in one of the premier parks in the world." Staff said that maintaining the existing model — of the park board operating and maintaining the train — would provide the lowest financial upside of all the business models that they assessed. However, much remains up in the air about the future of the train. Park board staff are expected to report back to the board in 2026 on its options regarding third-party investment and ticket prices after consulting with the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Long list of closures The Stanley Park Train ride has taken a winding track to its latest yearlong closure. It was first cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and physical distancing restrictions being implemented. Then, in 2021, a rash of coyote attacks in Stanley Park prompted the train's cancellation in October due to safety concerns, but it ran later in December. In 2022, the attraction was called off after the train failed a safety inspection, with the city saying that mechanical issues were affecting the antique engines and passenger cars, and supply chain issues meant new parts were difficult to procure. Steve Jackson, general manager of the city's park board, said in March that the park board's best option to keep the attraction viable would be to electrify. "Our assets are old; our attempts to repair, modify, have proven to not be successful, and so we'll have to explore these longer-term decisions with our board," he said at the time. The park board says the combustion engines on the locomotives are more than 50 years old. Park board staff estimate it would cost at least $7.7 million to electrify the train and maintain the status quo. Jackson had said that the biggest problem with the set of four locomotives used last year was that the gauge of the track is narrower than modern track gauges. "The manufacturer that produced these engines actually does produce an electric locomotive. It's on a 24-inch gauge," he said in March. "We are running a 20-inch gauge. "So in order to use their assets, we would actually have to wholesale replace the entire asset here, track and engines."
