VIA cancels Christmas Day trains after hundreds stranded nearly 24 hours due to storm

In the wake of a treacherous winter storm that hit southern Ontario hard on Friday — interrupting air travel and causing havoc on the highways, VIA Rail says it has been forced to cancel more trains scheduled to depart on Christmas Day.

VIA Rail said Saturday evening that it was forced to cancel all trains between Toronto and Ottawa and Toronto and Montreal scheduled for Dec. 25 due to a CN train derailment earlier in the day. The decision affects 25 trains that were scheduled to operate on Sunday.

The announcement comes as the railway was dealing with hundreds of passengers stranded on disabled trains in the Cobourg area since Friday afternoon.

VIA Rail confirmed to CityNews that nine trains became trapped in the area after sustaining damage from falling trees. Another seven trains were forced to be cancelled altogether.

“From power outages to trees on the tracks and even a tree falling on a locomotive, conditions make it impossible to move some of our trains,” reads a statement from VIA. “Our first priority is the safety of our passengers and, although stopped, our trains are able to keep passengers warm and safe while on board.”

Some passengers who were stuck on the trains for nearly a full day said they finally began moving toward their destinations as of 1:30 p.m. Saturday, after being picked up by rescue trains from Toronto.

VIA Rail confirmed in a statement to CityNews that all passengers had safely reached their final destinations by Saturday evening.

“We deeply regret the stress this has caused our passengers, and VIA Rail will be exceptionally providing full refund and a travel credit to all the passengers who were on board trains that were delayed through the night,” the railway said.

Federal transport minister Omar Alghabra called the situation “unacceptable” and says the government is in contact with VIA, a crown corporation, to resolve the problems “safely and efficiently.”

The current situation with @VIA_Rail is unacceptable and we are in contact with them to resolve all issues safely and efficiently. The unprecedented weather has caused delays in our transportation system and the safety of passengers and crew is our top priority.

— Omar Alghabra (@OmarAlghabra) December 24, 2022

Several passengers complained of a lack of communication and reported paramedics and police finally arrived at the disabled trains just before 10 a.m. on Saturday to begin assisting the stranded riders.

Hannah Sabuelba boarded a VIA train in Montreal around 4:45 p.m. on Friday — as of early Saturday morning she was still on board. Her trip to Toronto had been originally scheduled to depart at 3 p.m. the day before.

Speaking to CityNews just after 8 a.m. Saturday, she says food was running out on board and the toilets on the train were not working.

“There are families here, kids here, and everyone is kind of using their coats as blankets and trying to get some shut-eye,” Sabuelba says.

The passengers started receiving announcements around the Kingston area that warned of possible delays ahead.

“We heard multiple things like a loss of signal due to the weather, we also heard there was traffic,” she says. “Around 3 a.m. they said a tree had fallen on the tracks which needed to be inspected by a team of engineers.”

Sabuelba says passengers received another update later in the morning that the current inspection crews needed to be replaced by a second team of engineers.

“At this moment I don’t know entirely why there’s been such a delay,” she says. “Not much has been explained.”

Update-the train that the tree fell on near Cobourg station is now disabled. It's on the way to Toronto from Ottawa. Another train will be coming from Ottawa to pull it to Toronto, according to VIA Rail staff. https://t.co/ctNq1lUegH

— Kelly Crowe (@KCroweToronto) December 24, 2022

Several other passengers also complained about vague communication from VIA staff about why the delays were occurring.

“Two CN freights need to pass before the train in front of us can move,” says Sebastian Becker in an email. “That train is supposed to be deboarded. Apparently OPP and first responders boarded to defuse the situation there.”

“Washrooms are not functioning and I just saw a VIA employee for the first time in hours.”

Mitchell Wright says the tree fell and smashed the windshield of his brother’s train forcing it to come to a halt.

“VIA hasn’t done anything yet and people are running out of food and drink,” Wright said in an email, adding his brother is still stuck on the train. “They won’t let people off the train due to the weather.”

“Train 55 has been stuck for over 15 hours, no food and water,” writes Twitter user Rob Tyrie. “Limited information to passengers. No apparent emergency footing. Where is the accountability?”

Cobourg police and paramedics have finally reached the train to de-escalate the situation. Much calmer atmosphere as we await the rescue train. 18 hours and counting. @VIA_Rail

— Chantalle Clarkin (@ChantalleLC) December 24, 2022

Vee Grunda, another of the many passengers stranded without food or water aboard a Via Rail train in Cobourg, said the train came to a halt around 11 p.m. on Friday, and by noon Saturday many were still on board and seeking answers about what to do next.

“We’ve had some panic attacks and then we have some people with diabetes. We have a two-month-old baby, we have a bunch of elderly people,” Grunda said in a telephone interview. “They haven’t turned the lights off … so no one slept. Everything’s just tense.”

Some passengers jumped off the train and ventured into the snow, climbing through backyards in search of a main road, she said.

A replacement train eventually arrived to take Grunda and her fellow passengers on to their destination.

Winter storm persists after treacherous Friday

The stranded rail passengers came a day after provincial police pleaded with motorists to stay off the roads with the winter storm causing numerous disruptions on Friday. OPP say up to 100 vehicles were involved in multiple collisions in the southwestern part of the province.

A stretch of Highway 401 was closed in both directions between London and Tilbury, and Highway 402 was also closed between London and Sarnia after a multi-vehicle crash involving more than 50 vehicles in Middlesex County.

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority says nearly 39 per cent of all departing flights from Toronto Pearson International Airport on Friday were cancelled as a result of the winter storm. It says just over 40 per cent of all arriving flights were also cancelled due to the storm.

WestJet cancelled all flights in and out of Pearson from 9 a.m. Friday until the end of the day.

With files from CityNews reporter Asher Roth and The Canadian Press