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Behind the scenes with Trolley Overhead

Behind the scenes with Trolley Overhead

A Trolley Overhead crew: Miles (driver), Doug, and Al (chargehand). Photo by Charlotte Boychuk.
A Trolley Overhead crew: Miles (driver), Doug, and Al (chargehand). Photo by Charlotte Boychuk.

Yes, the Olympics are over, but I still have a couple of articles left to share about our work! This is another article is by Charlotte Boychuk from CMBC’s employee communications team, and it recognizes the great work of our trolley overhead division — the folks who make sure the wires for the trolleys work!

A Trolley Overhead crew repairs lines at Homer and Hastings on Friday, February 19.
A Trolley Overhead crew repairs lines at Homer and Hastings on Friday, February 19.

Trolley lines stay in good shape thanks to Trolley Overhead crews checking and repairing as needed all the line switches, as part of a regular 6-month inspection just prior to the Olympics.

To ensure the system stays energized during the Olympics, Trolley Overhead also had coverage in the downtown core from 7 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. every day, plus, an additional floater crew standing by to handle trouble calls outside of the downtown core.

David, the Trolley Overhead Manager said his team is working hard to keep the system live in the Olympic zone, and despite road closures in many areas, they can still respond to an incident within 15 minutes, even less on Wednesdays and Thursdays when two crews provide extra coverage in the downtown core.

Doug and Al. Photo by Charlotte Boychuk.
Doug and Al. Photo by Charlotte Boychuk.

Regular maintenance continues in outlying areas, such as here at University Boulevard where Trolley Overhead crew members Doug and Al begin repairing a switch that came down a couple of months ago thanks to a fallen tree.

“The Rectifier Crew prepared a replacement cable, so we can now finish putting up the mast arm and tying the wire here,” said Doug.

Trolley Overhead services over 371 kilometres of dual running wires in an area that extends the complete city of Vancouver and a portion of Burnaby – from UBC to Metrotown, and from Burrard Inlet to the Fraser River. These are just a few more ways that we continue to rise to our Olympic Commitment!

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