Via Rail cancels all major Christmas Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal routes after storm strands passengers, derails trains

A travel advisory on Via Rail’s website now claims that all trains between Toronto-Ottawa and Toronto-Montreal are canceled for December 25.

Earlier in the day, Canada’s Transport Minister Omar Alghabra expressed his disappointment with the rail system, calling the delays “unacceptable”. Hundreds of Via Rail passengers traveling between Ontario and Quebec shared their stories of being stranded on numerous trains between Friday night and Saturday after the fierce winter storm.

Via Rail issued a statement saying nine trains are operating between Quebec City and Windsor, Ontario. were caught.

One of these locomotives, train 55, was hit by a fallen tree, forcing it to stop completely. After more than 17 hours, passengers had to be rescued by rescue workers who helped them onto another train.

Via Rail added that seven more trains in total were canceled on Saturday morning.

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

Several passengers took to social media to express their outrage, with passengers on one train – train 54 – finding themselves stranded for 20 hours with no food or water on board.

“All night we have been focused on keeping our customers as comfortable as possible in the current circumstances and getting them to their final destinations as quickly and safely as possible, whilst striving to find alternative solutions to the.” to reach trains that are immobilized,” Via Rail said.

“We continue to work with our teams and the infrastructure owner to either get these trains moving as quickly as possible or get them to their final destination with new equipment.”

While some passengers have been rescued from their trains, others remain on board, waiting to reach their destination.

The story goes on

The situation comes after a violent storm disrupted holiday plans for many Canadians as Environment Canada issued weather warnings for most of the country.

Amid the storm, dozens of flights were canceled at major airports in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. Hundreds of thousands of people were also left without electricity in eastern Canada. Ontario Provincial Police also noted hundreds of clashes erupted across the province after the storm.