SkyTrain Incident Data Analysis
SkyTrain Safety Incidents
Technical Safety BC regulates railways that operate solely within the province and have a Minister's Certificate and Operating Permit issued by the BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit.
Our team performs audits and assessments under the Railway Safety Act. Between 2016 and 2025, there were 122 safety incidents related to individuals who made contact with Metro Vancouver’s SkyTrain. These incidents took place on the platform and within the guideways (what many people think of as the track) and were a mix of both intentional and unintentional.
For more passenger safety tips, visit TransLink’s Safety and Security Guide.
CONTENT WARNING — THIS PAGE CONTAINS STATISTICS INVOLVING SUICIDES THAT MAY BE DISTRESSING OR TRIGGERING FOR READERS.
Help is available. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 9-8-8 for support, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
How Do We Analyze Passenger Safety Risk?
Technical Safety BC works collaboratively with the Ministry of Transportation and Transit, TransLink, and SkyTrain to mitigate risks and address SkyTrain-related safety issues.
We leverage the data that we receive through incident and hazard reports across technologies and the province to analyze and rank the safety risks. The key metrics we consider when identifying and ranking a risk include the likelihood of an incident taking place, as well as the severity of its consequences, such as injury or damage.
Risk analysis is instrumental in identifying areas where risk treatment is needed, and we use it to develop strategies to influence better safety outcomes, whether it’s through regulation, communications, education, enforcement, partnering with organizations, or all of the above.
SkyTrain Safety by the Numbers
Between 2016 and 2025, there were 122 SkyTrain related safety incidents. In every case, the railway safety systems operated as designed.
Of the 122 incidents, 63% occurred in the guideway (what most people think of as the tracks), while 37% occurred on the platform. Platform incidents typically involved a person making contact with the side of a moving train while standing too close to the platform edge or placing hands, bags, or feet in the doors to prevent them from closing.
Determining whether contact with a train was intentional or unintentional can be challenging. The ability to distinguish between the two is limited, as incident descriptions are based solely on observations.*
*note: Incident descriptions are based on observations made by SkyTrain staff who witnessed the event or reviewed available video footage.
Platform vs Guideway
Our data was broken into platform and guideway incidents. The platform is the area where people enter and exit the train, and a guideway is what most people would consider the tracks.
How Often Do SkyTrain Incidents Occur?
On average, there were 12.2 incidents per year that involved human contact with the train. Of these, 7.7 were guideway related, while 4.5 took place on the platform. Our analysis shows an increase in guideway incidents in recent years, with incidents peaking for both platform and guideway in 2024.
SkyTrain Incident Rate – Incidents per 100,000 Boardings (2016–2025)
(Expo and Millennium line only)
When accounting for ridership volume, incident rates peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic, when ridership dropped significantly but incidents did not decline at the same rate.
Incident rates declined from the pandemic peak but have remained above pre-pandemic levels. For the Expo and Millennium lines, the average guideway incident rate from 2023 to 2025 was approximately double the pre-pandemic rate from 2016 to 2019. A similar trend was observed for incidents on platforms.
Where Do SkyTrain Incidents Take Place?
Incidents that take place within the guideway tend to have more serious consequences. 63% of the incidents during this time period took place in the guideway. Of these incidents, 47% were fatal and 8% resulted in severe injuries.
Each incident related to suicide represents an individual who was experiencing a crisis, and whose need for support went unmet. Suicide is preventable and help is available without judgement. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 9-8-8 at any time for support.
Incidents on the Platform
Our data shows that 23% of incidents on the platform resulted in moderate to major injuries. An incident that begins on the platform can quickly escalate into a guideway incident, where the likelihood of serious injury is substantially higher.
Hazard Pathways on the Platform
37% of the incidents took place on the platform. The vast majority (87%) appear to be unintentional.
Hazard Pathways in Guideway
Many incidents that took place within the guideway are suspected to have been intentional, with almost 60% attributed to suicidal behaviours, which was determined through reports of the incident indicating the individual may have intentionally entered the guideway, and 2% appeared to involve malicious intent and did not result in fatality. However, 38% appeared to be unintentional.
While this analysis has improved our understanding of the circumstances and consequences of these incidents, additional research is needed to determine whether certain population segments or geographic areas experience a disproportionate level of risk, and why.
Visit our Rail Safety page or TransLink’s website for more tips on how to stay safe while on the platform.
Media Resources for Safe Reporting
Each significant incident cited here represents a human life, as well as the impact on that person’s loved ones and community. Following media guidelines for safe reporting on suicide can significantly decrease the number of deaths by suicide. Please refer to 988.ca’s Media Guidelines if sourcing this information and when writing about topics involving suicide. You Might Be Interested In
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