Stalled train snarls traffic in South Surrey

Witnesses say two train cars somehow became decoupled, forcing the train to stop.

Traffic to and from South Surrey’s Crescent Beach neighbourhood was halted for more than an hour Saturday afternoon because of a stalled cargo train.

The BNSF train had a mechanical issue, according to company spokesman Gus Melonas, which required repairs on the scene. He said the company notified the City of Surrey and took steps to allow traffic to move through the railroad crossing as soon as it became aware of the incident.

Melonas said the company decoupled two of the train cars in order to move them out of the way of traffic on Crescent Road.

Vehicles could be seen lined up for several blocks at the railroad crossing as crews worked first to move the cars out of the way of the intersection, and later to reattach them once the mechanical issue was addressed.

The train was fixed and cleared from the scene shortly before 7 p.m., Melonas said.