Montreal-Toronto VIA Rail passengers stranded for hours due to fallen debris
Posted April 5, 2023 9:55 pm.
Last Updated April 5, 2023 10:10 pm.
Several VIA Rail trains between Toronto and Montreal were cancelled as passengers were stranded for hours due to power outages and track obstructions, including fallen trees.
Passengers tell CityNews that they have been idle since Wednesday afternoon and were reportedly told they won’t arrive in Toronto until midnight.
On passenger aboard a VIA Rail train from Ottawa en route to Toronto says their train hit a tree in the afternoon between 1 and 2 p.m.
“Passengers were told that a train was coming from Montreal to take them to Toronto. At 6:30 p.m., passengers were told this was false, and there was no train from Montreal,” said Melissa Brooks.
Tony Brooks says he left Ottawa for Toronto at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, but his train stopped shortly after because of the weather. A replacement train showed up six hours later.
“What upset me… it’s unbelievable that there is no contingency plan,” Tony Brooks said. “We were out in the woods…they wouldn’t let anyone off the train. My wife, who was in Toronto, said she would come and get us, but there was no way to get off. There was no street [to access].”
RELATED: Thousands without power as freezing rain, thunderstorms hit Ontario and Quebec
A VIA Rail official tells CityNews that strong winds and heavy rain mixed with thunderstorms across southern Ontario greatly affected travel, noting they are offering full refunds to passengers impacted — plus 50 per cent travel credits.
“Power outages and track obstructions are causing service delays and cancellations in the Montreal-Toronto corridor,” VIA Rail Canada tweeted.
On its website, VIA Rail Canada listed the cancelled trains as 39, 48, 54, 59, 68, 69, 668, 669. No passengers were injured.
Over half a million people in Ontario and Quebec were without power Wednesday after a messy mix of freezing rain and thunderstorms battered parts of both provinces.
One man died in Markham, Ont. after a tree he cut shifted and struck him. He died at the scene on Wednesday evening.
Hydro One said earlier in the day that crews were still responding to outages in Ontario as quickly and safely as possible, but severe weather slowed the response. An outage map showed over 120,000 customers in the province without power by late afternoon.
