Passengers reach destinations after storm strands hundreds on Via Rail

Hundreds of Via Rail passengers stuck overnight on nine trains as a result of Friday’s winter storm have now reached their destinations.

From Quebec City to Windsor, trains were immobilized into Saturday morning, with some passengers spending more than 15 hours on board.

In an email to the Star, Via Rail said they, “deeply regret the stress this has caused our passengers.”

Via Rail said affected passengers will receive a full refund and a travel credit.

Canada’s Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra took to Twitter to call the situation with Via Rail “unacceptable,” as many passengers report massive delays and cancelled trips due to the storm.

Alghabra says his office is in touch with Via Rail in hopes of resolving issues “safely and efficiently.”

Earlier, passengers aboard Train 55, from Ottawa to Toronto, said it stopped seven hours after departing from the nation’s capital after a tree fell on it.

Rider Lucy Ellis told the Star before 11 a.m. that the train was still stranded in Cobourg, an hour away from her destination. Emergency services boarded the train at 10:30 p.m. and provided water and food, she said, but those supplies had since run out and the toilets had stopped working.

“A four-hour trip is now 18 hours long,” Ellis said. “All of us are just very tired, I slept on the floor for an hour, frustration is just growing.”

Via Rail told the Star power outages and fallen trees were responsible for halted operations; Ellis posted a picture on Twitter of the tree that immobilized Train 55, whose passengers said a second train came to their rescue just before 11:15 a.m. on Saturday.

Some Twitter users said a CN wagon derailment near Grafton, Ont. blocked all train tracks in Kingston, halting train operations between Quebec and Ontario.

Via Rail confirmed the derailment to the Star and said they had to cancel all trains between Toronto and Ottawa as well as Toronto and Montreal for Christmas Eve and Day.

Two trains already en route were sent back to their starting point.

Firefighters assisted passengers in moving over to the new train and resuming the trip to Toronto. “It has been a whirlwind, just a little bit surreal,” Ellis said.

Meaghan Wray left Union Station Friday afternoon, expecting to get to Ottawa shortly before 11 p.m. Twenty hours after departing, she was still on board the train, just outside of Napanee, at midday Saturday, halfway to her destination.

The 31-year-old freelance writer told the Star her train stopped for three hours after the weather reduced the available tracks to just one set. Resuming its journey after that, the train then stopped several more times to thaw a switch on the railway, perform engine repairs twice and defrost the track, she said.

“This has been horrible and so traumatic that I have cancelled my trip to Vancouver next week because I can’t fathom having to travel more after this,” Wray said.

“Via staff on board have done their best, but we’ve run out of food and water. The washrooms no longer work. People are hungry,” she added.

That train has now once again resumed its trek toward Ottawa. Wray says other passengers remain calm and in good spirits, despite lack of communication from Via Rail, fuelling concerns among riders and those awaiting them.

“We have no idea when this will end or if we will get more food or water. It’s traumatizing for us and our loved ones waiting,” she added.

The break in communication was acknowledged by other passengers, who described sitting for hours without hearing any announcements or updates from crew members.

“We were all so confused as to why we had to wait for those trains, why we waited for a light signal for 2 hours; just keep us informed,” said Gabrielle Vachon, Via Rail’s 54 train passenger.

Seven other trains were immobilized Friday overnight due to the scattered weather patterns, leaving passengers on trains 59 (Ottawa to Toronto), 69 and 669 (Montreal to Toronto), 79 (Toronto to Windsor), 48 (Toronto to Ottawa), 68 and 668 (Toronto to Montreal) in the lurch.

“We deeply apologize for this situation and the impact on our passengers and we are continuing to work with our teams and the infrastructure owner to either get those trains moving as quickly as possible or bring them to their final destination with new equipment,” said the Crown corporation.

Some users reported passengers jumping off the train — a move strongly discouraged by authorities on board, given the weather conditions.

At Ottawa’s train station, passengers were seen scrambling to find alternative transportation after seven more trains were cancelled close to Saturday noon.

With files from Edward Djan and Canadian Press

SHARE:

Powered by WPeMatico