TransLink is facing some harsh criticism for not taking care of crucial SkyTrain work – a slip up that could cost as much as $50 million.

An internal report done by the National Research Council of Canada was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. Experts inspected the tracks of the Expo Line, which connects downtown Vancouver to Surrey, and found 557 defects.

The report's author referred to the damage as “disappointing compared to other Metro systems,” and wrote, “Holy smokes!” into the final document, expressing their surprise.

The report concluded track maintenance was reactive, expensive, inefficient, and with limited effectiveness.

SkyTrain’s new president Vivienne King spoke to CTV News on Tuesday, downplaying the internal report.

“There were a number of defects found in the rail, but they are normal defects,” King said. “We have a good maintenance regime in SkyTrain, we have a good plan. A clear plan.”

The plan is to inspect the entire rail system each year instead of just portions – and to spend some $50 million to replace 50 kilometres of the track – roughly 46 per cent of the Expo Line – in 10 years.

Critics like Jordan Bateman of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation blame billion dollar infrastructure expansion such as the new lines, bridges and cars popular with politicians, while operating budgets are stretched.

“If you don't maintain things properly there’s a big bill at the end,” said Jordan Bateman of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “Quit spending money on the big sexy photo ops and do the little things. That’s how you rebuild confidence in TransLink.”

With files from CTV Vancouver’s Tom Popyk