West Coast Express to run Tuesday morning after protest forced service suspension

Andrew Weichel CTV News Vancouver

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VANCOUVER -- Protesters once again forced TransLink to suspend service on the West Coast Express Monday, but the transit agency said regular service was expected to run on Tuesday morning.

The transit provider said protesters blocked the tracks in the Port Haney area, which forced a full shutdown of the West Coast Express on Monday afternoon.

"Protestors are no longer blocking the tracks in the Port Haney area, and we have been advised that we can run trains to Mission tonight," TransLink said in an emailed statement just before 8 p.m. Monday.

A bus bridge had also been set up to ferry passengers from Coquitlam Central SkyTrain Station to Mission.

Prior to the announcement, a number of eastbound West Coast Express passengers reported that their trains had been turned around and returned to Waterfront Station.

The protesters were seen leaving the Port Haney area shortly before 7 p.m.

The blockade was one of several protest actions organized across B.C. on Monday, including a demonstration in Victoria where about 100 people gathered outside the provincial legislature.

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The protesters say they're out in support of the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs who are pushing back against the planned construction of a natural gas pipeline on their territory.

Another group of activists blocked access to the Port of Vancouver. Up north near Hazelton, members of the Gitxsan Nation and other Wet'suwet'en supporters blocked the CN Rail line.

The Unist'ot'en Solidarity Brigade said the escalating actions across B.C. were a response to the police raid on Tyendinaga Mohawks in Ontario, which resulted in several protesters being taken into custody.

RELATED IMAGES 1 / 2 Demonstrators blocked the Pitt River Rail Bridge overnight, cancelling service for a second day on Feb. 14, 2020. A blockade on the CN Rail tracks is seen near the northern B.C. village of Hazelton on Feb. 24, 2020. (Dan Mesec)