The federal transport minister says he is “not happy” with Via Rail’s response after more than 100 passengers spent the night stranded on a train in eastern Ontario.
The passengers on trains 48 and 54 travelling from Toronto to Ottawa Wednesday evening had their trip disrupted when they stopped to assist a Montreal-Toronto train that sustained a mechanical failure near Brockville, Ont.
The 114 passengers on trains 48 and 54 eventually arrived in Ottawa on another train at 12 p.m. Thursday, more than 12 hours after they were initially scheduled to arrive in the capital.
Transport Minister Steve MacKinnon expressed “my regret” to all the passengers onboard the delayed trains.
“I’m not happy at all with that response and we will continue to discuss with the folks at Via how they deal with these situations,” MacKinnon told reporters Friday morning in Gatineau, Que.
“We have a public transportation system, Via Rail, that operates in a Canadian winter — there are going to be issues, just like they’re issues with any other mode of transport. But it’s how you deal with those issues when they arise that preoccupy me, and I want to make sure that Via is on a path of continuous improvement.”
Via Rail offered an apology to passengers on the trains.
“This is not the level of service that Canadians expect from VIA Rail, and it is not the level of service we want to provide,” Via Rail said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.
“We are conducting a full review of the mechanical failure, including the shutdown of the equipment involved, to understand what happened and to strengthen both our operations and our response.”
Via Rail said the problems started when train 669 travelling from Montreal to Toronto experienced a mechanical failure Wednesday night.
“After several attempts to restore the disabled 669 train by coupling it to a rescue train were unsuccessful, our crews carried out a transfer from train to train,” Via said.
“Passengers from train 669 were transferred to train 54, passengers from train 54 were then transferred to train 48. Train 54 then left as the new train 669 and arrived in Toronto with 8 hours 30 minutes of delay. All passengers were transferred safely and without injury, and our teams continue to work to support customers as best as possible under challenging conditions. No buses were available in the region to provide alternative transportation.
“Train 48, which was deployed to support the rescue operation, has been held in Brockville to secure the disabled train.”
Passengers told CTV News Ottawa that train 48 pulled the stalled train into the Brockville station, but there was an issue disconnecting the train in the station and the tracks were blocked. The engineering crew then reached the end of their shift, and they had to wait for a new crew to arrive.
The passengers from trains 48 and 54 boarded train 50 en route to Ottawa to complete their journey on Thursday.
Train 50/60 on Friday
Passengers travelling on a Via Rail train from Toronto to Ottawa and Montreal had their trip disrupted due to a mechanical issue on Friday.
Via Rail says a “mechanical issue” affected train 50/60 in Oshawa. The train initially departed Toronto at 6:32 a.m.
“All passengers were provided with alternative transportation and are on their way or at their final destinations, either by bus or on other trains,” Via Rail said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.
