Via Rail to resume modified service on Toronto to Ottawa, Montreal routes

Via Rail officials have announced service will be resuming on the organization’s Toronto-Ottawa and Toronto-Montreal routes as of Tuesday, but schedules will be modified.

The announcement was made on Twitter Monday afternoon and Via Rail staff said the revised schedule is on their website and would be “communicated to impacted customers as soon as possible.”

Seven trains were scheduled to depart from Toronto, four from Ottawa and three from Montreal throughout the day.

It wasn’t immediately clear how pre-booked customers would be accommodated or when full service might resume.

Staff at CN Rail, which owns the rail lines that Via Rail trains run on, issued a statement on Monday saying “crews have been working tirelessly around the clock in very difficult conditions to restore the track to a safe and usable state as quickly as possible.”

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The statement said the current goal is to have one of two sets of tracks “passable” by the end of Monday, which would allow some passenger and freight train trips to begin on Tuesday.

News of the resumptions came amid ongoing questions from riders on social media about service restoration as well as rescheduling and/or refunding tickets. There were also concerns raised about the timeliness of communications.

A blizzard on Saturday caused damage along CN Rail’s Kingston subdivision, which Via Rail’s trains travel along. Hundreds of passengers were stranded near Cobourg and at other points.

Via Rail staff said nine trains in all were trapped after trees fell on the tracks and on a train. Another seven train trips were cancelled altogether on Saturday.

For the latest information on Via Rail’s arrivals and departures, click here.

Update:
CN just provided confirmation that their tracks will be reopened by tomorrow. VIA Rail plans to run TO-OTT and TO-MTL trains on Dec. 27 with a modified schedule which will be available on our website and communicated to impacted customers as soon as possible.

— VIA Rail Canada (@VIA_Rail) December 26, 2022