I was taking the LRT back to my home on the south side of Edmonton. I had just spent two hours in a downtown theater watching Batman when the moody image of a dark, rainy Gotham City captivated me, as did the story itself. Sitting on a bench overlooking the corridor, I was relaxed, enjoying the warm air from the heaters and the lulling effect of the rocking carriage. There was a scattering of other passengers, most of them engrossed in their digital worlds. Most days I am impressed by the efficiency of the LRT. My morning commute ends like clockwork at 7:24am. outside the University of Alberta Hospital where I work. In general, the trains are clean and comfortable, and passengers do their best to treat each other with respect. At least during the day. When night falls, the atmosphere can deteriorate, as it did in March.

A man with a bat

Debris, including a hammer, food and clothing was found in an Edmonton LRT car during a morning commute in April 2022. (Cort Sloan/CBC) I was about halfway to my destination when a young man boarded. He wore a trench coat and carried a baseball bat. Out of the corner of my eye I could see him walking up and down the hall. My senses heightened with adrenaline, I heard his mumbles—mostly incoherent—that I didn’t want to take it anymore. He stopped next to a young woman, who froze and didn’t look up from her phone. To my dismay, he then approached me. We were knee to knee, him tightening and releasing the neck of his bat as the murmur grew louder and angrier. My heart was in my throat and I braced myself to avoid a swing to the temple or a bun to the forehead. The man walked away as the train pulled into Century Park station—my destination as well. Inside the station, a second man ran down the stairs and began attacking the man holding the bat. In the ensuing battle, the two ended up on the tracks. The only security staff I could see was a 20 year old security guard who took out her phone and started typing. (Was it tweeting?) I don’t know how things turned out. I removed it without reporting it to the police or transit authority. There was nothing on the morning news. It made me wonder how many other incidents never make headlines.

Big trains to other places

Davin Tikkala strikes a pose while on the Keihan Line in Osaka in 2016. (Yui Tikkala) I like trains. I took the famous Blue Train sleeper from Pretoria to Cape Town, spent over 24 hours on a wooden bus in Africa with live chickens on the aisle, and trained with bullets up and down the Japanese archipelago. The trains in Japan are particularly impressive: the interiors are gleaming temples of cleanliness, paint jobs are updated seasonally and what appears to be an unspoken agreement avoid talking unless talking makes me for a pleasant ride. The least enjoyable part of Japan’s trains are the crowds, but even that shows how well the system works. Everyone uses it. People trust it. They don’t – like me – consider an Uber with 15 times the fare to have a better chance of getting home safe.

Watch out for cracks

Among the safety issues that have made headlines are cracks in the concrete piers of the once-again delayed Valley Line for the Edmonton LRT. (Trevor Wilson/CBC) This summer, Edmonton’s LRT made headlines when cracks were found in the concrete piers supporting the new Valley Line that will run from the city’s southeast to downtown. The city’s frustrated mayor, Amarjeet Sohi, said he expected the manufacturer to fix the problems to provide a “safe and reliable service”.
When I read the mayor’s words, my thoughts went back to that March night on my way home from the movies. The atmosphere that night felt anything but safe and reliable. It made me wonder if LRT, rather than Light Rail Transit, is an acronym for “Leave? Remain in my seat? Try to blend in with the upholstery?” ONE series of violent episodes that happened this spring—two women who were repeatedly assaulted by a stranger on a bus and a 78-year-old woman who was pushed onto the LRT tracks—raised concerns in the provincial government and action from the citywhich increased the number of transit peace officers and passed a statute to better regulate the conduct of passengers. The union representing transit workers has been calling for action for months, noting the increase in cases since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. But even during a smooth commute, there are quiet signs of trouble all around—cobwebbed glass in the shelters, empty beer cans rolling in the hallways, open drug use by people caught in the cycle of addiction. It’s too much for a commute or a trip back to the cinema. And when will the evenings begin to bleed into the days?

Pride and passengers

The living exterior of a commuter train in Japan. (Submitted by Davin Tikkala) The Japanese have every reason to be proud of their system. If only we had such pride in ours. Once the cracks in Edmonton’s concrete piers were identified, there was a quick response followed by regular updates.
I wonder why structural issues are tackled head-on while experiences like mine are often ignored, as if they were isolated events instead of a troubling pattern. Do we not want to face the cracks that appear in our society after the stress of the last years? Our city’s willingness to let commuters fend for themselves as incidents — documented and otherwise — pile up suggests an indifference that is not a part of the Edmonton I want to call home. Do you have a compelling personal story that can bring understanding or help others? We want to hear from you. Here is more information on how to submit to us.