Commuters on the West Coast Express were stranded Monday morning after a man was struck and killed by a westbound train at Coquitlam Centre station.
More than a dozen Coquitlam RCMP and Transit Police vehicles had cordoned off the station shortly after 7 a.m. while investigators examined a spot on the tracks just slightly west of the passenger platform.
The body was removed from the scene at approximately 10 a.m. and police had identified the man and were in the process of notifying his family. As of Tuesday afternoon, Coquitlam Mounties said they would not be releasing the name of the deceased.
RCMP Insp. Davis Wendell told The Tri-City News Monday that foul play was not suspected.
TransLink spokesperson Drew Snider said it was the third of five westbound West Coast Express trains that hit the person, halting the train at Coquitlam Centre and forcing commuters to get off the fourth and fifth trains at Port Coquitlam.
Those trains were still parked at Port Coquitlam station at approximately 9:30 a.m., while passengers were loaded onto buses bound for SKyTrain stations.
"Coast Mountain bus company got additional buses into place to get passengers from PoCo station to Braid and the 97-B Line got customers at Port Moody and got them to Lougheed and then Millennium Line extended its rush hour service level," Snider said.
By early afternoon, all five West Coast Express trains had arrived in Vancouver to take eastbound passengers home in time for the evening rush.
This is the first time in 16 years of the train's operation that someone has been hit by the West Coast Express at Coquitlam Centre, Snider said.
tcoyne@tricitynews.com
