SkyTrain Safety Data: Most Train Contact Incidents Unintentional, Study Finds A 10-year TransLink and Technical Safety B.C. study of 122 SkyTrain contact incidents from 2016 to 2025 found most were unintentional, but guideway cases were far more often fatal. Most incidents in which people make physical contact with a SkyTrain are unintentional, according to a 10-year analysis of safety data released this week by TransLink and Technical Safety B.C. The study examined 122 incidents involving contact with trains between 2016 and 2025, with 63 per cent of them, or 77 incidents, occurring on the guideway, the area most people call the tracks. The remaining 37 per cent, or 45 incidents, took place on the platform. The report cautions that an incident beginning on a platform can quickly escalate into a guideway incident, where the likelihood of serious injury is much higher.Guideway Incidents More Often FatalGuideway incidents were significantly more likely to be fatal. Thirty-six of the 77 guideway incidents, or 47 per cent, were fatal, compared with just one of the 45 platform incidents, about two per cent.Guideway cases were also more likely to be classified as intentional in the study. The analysis acknowledges that determining whether train contact was intentional or unintentional can be challenging, noting that the ability to distinguish between the two is limited because incident descriptions are based solely on observations.The study counts 48 guideway incidents, 62 per cent of the total, as intentional, with the vast majority attributed to suicidal behaviours. Two per cent of guideway incidents appeared to involve malicious intent.Still, a substantial share of guideway incidents, 38 per cent or 29 cases, were deemed unintentional, as were the vast majority of platform incidents, 87 per cent or 39 cases, according to the data.Unintentional Contacts Outnumber IntentionalTaken together, unintentional contact with trains outnumbered intentional contact. Fifty-six per cent of incidents were unintentional, compared with 44 per cent that were intentional.Incidents also became more frequent near the end of the sample period. Looking at just the Expo and Millennium lines, the number of human-SkyTrain contact cases per 100,000 riders peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic, when ridership plummeted.The rate has remained elevated relative to pre-pandemic levels. The report highlights twice as many incidents per 100,000 riders on the Expo and Millennium lines between 2023 and 2025 as there were between 2016 and 2019.Derek Patterson, Technical Safety B.C. vice-president of regulatory leadership and corporate secretary, said in a news release that the agency's safety data shows a troubling increase in incidents where individuals have come into contact with a SkyTrain. He said the agencies must work together to influence better safety outcomes and that they are partnering with TransLink to share the data in order to educate the public, prevent future tragedies and save lives.Safety Reminders and Screen Door ReviewThe two agencies shared several safety reminders. Riders should stay behind the yellow line on the platform until the train has come to a complete stop and the doors have opened. They should not try to board once the doors have started closing.Passengers should never use hands, bags, clothing or other belongings to try to stop or hold doors open, and should never enter the guideway. If something such as a phone or keys is dropped onto the tracks, riders should not try to retrieve it themselves but should inform a SkyTrain staff member for assistance.The agencies also urged riders to stay aware of their surroundings and avoid distractions such as looking down at a phone or wearing noise-cancelling headphones when standing near the platform edge.TransLink added that previous studies found platform screen doors to be incompatible with the SkyTrain system. The agency said it is now reassessing the technology to see whether newer solutions can be implemented.Kevin Quinn, TransLink chief executive officer, said in the release that safety is the agency's top priority and that it is continually looking at ways to strengthen protections across the SkyTrain system. He said that while systems and procedures are designed to keep people safe, these incidents can have devastating impacts on the people involved, their loved ones, employees and first responders, and that the work is about continuing to look for every opportunity to reduce those incidents and their impact.