Via Rail tells MPs passengers stuck on train for 18 hours in 'unique' situation
Via Rail tells MPs passengers stuck on train for 18 hours in 'unique' situation
OTTAWA -
The CEO of Via Rail says that after a tree fell on a passenger train as it travelled on CN Rail tracks during the holidays, it took the freight company longer than hoped to clear it -- and passengers on board were stuck for 18 hours.
Martin Landry, who is also Via Rail's interim president, offered the details of the saga while appearing before the House of Commons transportation committee on Thursday.
He and other executives from the Crown corporation were the latest witnesses to be questioned by members of Parliament who are investigating the widespread delays and cancellations that upended travellers' plans in December.
Much of the committee's focus has been on the actions taken by Canada's major airlines. But Via Rail was also called to explain the dozens of cancellations and delays its network experienced from Dec. 23 to 26, as a winter storm swept across Ontario and Quebec.
"We, as a country, have to look at increasing the resiliency of our transportation infrastructure," Landry said, adding that climate change means severe weather events are becoming more common.
What was of particular concern to MPs, however, was the experience of those passengers who boarded Via Rail's Train 55 in Ottawa on Dec. 23, expecting to arrive in Toronto but instead stopping for hours near Coburg, Ont.
At the time, some of the travellers told media they that were not receiving updates about when they might move, and that they were without proper food access.
Landry said one issue was that train was travelling on tracks owned by CN Rail, which hauls freight.
Nearly all of the tracks Via Rail uses are owned by CN Rail, which Landry says makes them dependent on the private company, whose responsibility it is to maintain and respond to incidents on its infrastructure.
In the case of Train 55, Landry said the first CN crews that arrived to clear the fallen tree ended up getting into an accident amid poor road conditions.
He said a second crew then determined that the winds were too strong to remove the tree without causing more damage.
"I don't think it's an issue of pointing the blame, because frankly, it's a combination of factors that created this situation," Landry said.
Some MPs on the committee expressed disappointment that no one from CN Rail appeared, despite being invited.
A spokesman for the rail company told The Canadian Press that it is in discussions with the committee in hopes of appearing "soon," and pointed to a brief it submitted that outlines what happened over the holidays.
The document says that from Dec. 23 to 24, the winter storm caused power outages and road closures across Eastern Ontario.
It also addresses how a freight train derailed on Christmas Eve along a stretch of tracks that carries Via Rail passengers between Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto, resulting in more cancellations.
CN Rail says in its brief that crews were sent from Ontario and Quebec to clear the railway, but "had to work in very difficult conditions," including high winds and limited visibility, near the steep embankments where the train cars derailed. Some of the cars were carrying dangerous goods, the document says.
During Thursday's hearing, Landry told MPs he believes it would be best if the passenger rail system had its own tracks.
Other executives at Via Rail said they are working to improve communication with CN Rail. And Landry added it's also clear they need to better update their passengers when it comes to delays -- something he apologized publicly for earlier this month.
Rita Toporowski, the railway's chief customer officer, told Thursday's committee that Via Rail does keep food and water on board for when delays happen.
But she said what took place on Train 55 was a "unique" situation.
It lasted for more than a few hours, and staff were unable to bring further supplies to passengers, which is generally another option if they run out, she said.
Via Rail's appearance came as some Opposition members of Parliament say it's time to extend the country's passenger protection regulations to cover rail transportation, not just air.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra appeared at the committee earlier this month and vowed to toughen up existing rules, which critics argue lack the teeth to hold companies accountable for compensating air passengers.
But in a statement provided to The Canadian Press, Alghabra's office did not address whether the minister supports calls to expand the existing passenger protection regime to cover those travelling by rail.
"The situation with Via Rail over the holiday season was unacceptable. Passengers deserve to be communicated with, especially during the unprecedented weather conditions Canadians were experiencing," spokeswoman Nadine Ramadan said in an email.
"The safety of crew and passengers is always a top priority. All options are on the table to strengthen passenger safety even more."
Via Rail's appearance followed earlier testimony by leaders at Air Canada, WestJet and Sunwing.
Sunwing Airlines came under particular scrutiny after hundreds of passengers were left stranded in Mexico, saying they could not get an answer from the company about returning to Canada. They have all since returned to Canada, and the airline has apologized.
Sunwing faced criticism not long after for cancelling all flights out of Saskatchewan until early February. It has also reduced winter flights out of Moncton, N.B., Fredericton and Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2023.
The Canadian real estate market has been sluggish since last year, when prospective buyers started putting off plans to purchase homes as the Bank of Canada aggressively hiked interest rates eight consecutive times. But realtors see many edging toward a purchase once more.
Canada's population grew by more than one million over the course of one calendar year, breaking previous records, a new Statistics Canada report says.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping just concluded a three-day visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a warm affair in which the two men praised each other and spoke of a profound friendship. It's a high point in a complicated, centuries-long relationship.
Nearly 200 years after Ludwig van Beethoven's death, researchers pulled DNA from strands of his hair, searching for clues about the health problems and hearing loss that plagued him.
Last month, Dr. Michael Yang, a spine surgeon at Foothills Medical Centre, performed a discectomy to remove the damaged part of a herniated disc in the spine, on a patient who was wide awake.
Doctors and family members are expected to testify on Wednesday in a trial about a 2016 ski crash between Gwyneth Paltrow and a retired Utah man suing her and claiming her recklessness left him with lasting injuries and brain damage.
The Liberal MP who allegedly benefitted from Chinese election interference is speaking out against the report, categorically stating the foreign government did not help him in his nomination campaign.
Canadians are throwing out millions of food products each year, a practice that is not only harming the environment but also their wallets. Here are some tips to reduce food waste from an eco expert.
Canadians with a hankering for Shake Shack's juicy burgers soon won't have to cross the border to satisfy their cravings. Toronto-based private investment firms Osmington Inc. and Harlo Entertainment Inc. announced plans Wednesday to bring the U.S. fast food giant to Canada.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in 'What Happened to Ben' on CTV W5.
The RCMP knew about a potential cocaine shipment from the Dominican Republic to Toronto aboard a Canadian charter flight but inexplicably allowed the crew that discovered and reported the drugs to be detained for months without intervening, a W5 investigation has revealed.
CTV W5 investigates what authorities knew about plans to smuggle cocaine out of the Dominican Republic on a Toronto-bound Pivot Airlines flight. The airline's crew is demanding justice following their eight-month detention.
A 64-year-old grandmother from Barrie, Ont. faces life in prison in Hong Kong, accused of smuggling drugs, after being duped twice in what her family believes was a sophisticated romance scam.
Anishinaabe podcaster Ryan McMahon sought to uncover the truth behind the deaths of several Indigenous people in Thunder Bay, Ont. in a new Crave Original documentary.
Ontario Minister for Citizenship and Multiculturalism and MPP Michael Ford was called upon Wednesday to rescind a comment made about Toronto youth that some have called “disturbing, offensive, and racist.”
The city of Ottawa has released its list of road closures for the presidential motorcade and visit, starting Thursday when Biden arrives and ending Friday night after his departure.
Environment Canada has issued a freezing rain warning for Ottawa, calling for mixed precipitation and icy conditions Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
Canada's population grew by more than one million over the course of one calendar year, breaking previous records, a new Statistics Canada report says.
A Tottenham woman faces impaired driving charges for allegedly blowing four times over the legal limit after crashing into a vehicle in a school parking lot.
The second day of the inquest into a fatal police shooting saw a number of people who knew 20-year-old Beau Baker leading up to his death testify, including with the police officer who shot him.
Drivers in west London won’t have to squint at night or early in the dark hours of the morning when traveling along a section of Wonderland Road north.
London police have released more photos of a man wanted in connection to a random stabbing. The suspect is described as a dark-skinned man, waring a black hat, dark sweater or coat, tight dark-coloured jeans, black boots and a white medical mask.
A LaSalle man is in serious condition and facing an impaired driving charge after a car collided with an attached garage of a home, according to police.
The search for victims continues in Old Montreal Wednesday, nearly a week after a major fire left at least two dead and five missing. Rescuers are slowly but surely combing through the historic building, which contained multiple illegal Airbnb units at the time of the fire.
As the search for victims of a five-alarm fire in Old Montreal stretched into its fifth day on Tuesday, friends and family members are getting frustrated with the pace of the investigation and lack of answers.
It may officially be spring, but wintery weather is hanging on. A Colorado low moving into Quebec is expected to bring light freezing rain this evening, after the evening rush hour
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says in a report released today that a scallop dragger that sank off Nova Scotia should have been tested for stability, given major changes made to the boat.
To memorialize the passing of the youngest member of their family, Gabriel Sinclair-Pasqua, Gerry Bakoway has organized a craft fair at Taber, Alta.'s Parkside Manor on April 15 to raise money for children's charities across Alberta.
A Spruce Grove first responder artist created a series of portraits in memory of the pair of Edmonton Police Service constables killed in the line of duty last week.
Canadians are throwing out millions of food products each year, a practice that is not only harming the environment but also their wallets. Here are some tips to reduce food waste from an eco expert.
The Liberal MP who allegedly benefitted from Chinese election interference is speaking out against the report, categorically stating the foreign government did not help him in his nomination campaign.
President Joe Biden's administration is not dismissing out of hand the idea of renegotiating the bilateral 2004 treaty that governs the flow of asylum seekers across its northern border, says Canada's ambassador to the U.S.
After weeks of resistance, and ahead of a vote that could have compelled it to happen, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office announced Tuesday that his chief of staff Katie Telford will testify about foreign election interference, before a committee that has been studying the issue for months.
Canada's race to procure ventilators for COVID-19 patients in the early days of the pandemic had researchers, scientists, industry and a notable astrophysicist working 'night and day' to design machines that could be quickly manufactured domestically.
Last month, Dr. Michael Yang, a spine surgeon at Foothills Medical Centre, performed a discectomy to remove the damaged part of a herniated disc in the spine, on a patient who was wide awake.
U.S. cases of the dangerous fungus Candida auris tripled over just three years, and researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the COVID-19 pandemic is likely partly to blame. More than half of states have now reported it, according to a new study.
Two organic compounds essential for living organisms have been found in samples retrieved from the asteroid Ryugu, buttressing the notion that some ingredients crucial for the advent of life arrived on Earth aboard rocks from space billions of years ago.
A high-tech industry coalition in the United States is urging President Joe Biden to take a hard line against Canada's approach to digital services. The group says the proposed digital services tax unfairly targets U.S. companies and is offside with international efforts to establish a global standard.
Doctors and family members are expected to testify on Wednesday in a trial about a 2016 ski crash between Gwyneth Paltrow and a retired Utah man suing her and claiming her recklessness left him with lasting injuries and brain damage.
Gwyneth Paltrow's lawyer called the story of a retired optometrist who is suing her over a 2016 ski collision 'utter B.S.' on Tuesday during the trial's opening day in Utah, where the actor-turned-lifestyle influencer appeared in court, and tried to shield herself from photographers' view with a notebook.
The Canadian real estate market has been sluggish since last year, when prospective buyers started putting off plans to purchase homes as the Bank of Canada aggressively hiked interest rates eight consecutive times. But realtors see many edging toward a purchase once more.
Stocks are holding steady Wednesday as Wall Street bides its time until the U.S. Federal Reserve's announcement in the afternoon about whether it will tighten the screws further on the economy.
When Ai Weiwei opens his new show in April, visitors will encounter a familiar scene at London's Design Museum: Claude Monet's famed water lilies. But the monumental recreation is made from the studs of Lego bricks — a whopping 650,000 of them.
Willis Reed, who dramatically emerged from the locker room minutes before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals to spark the New York Knicks to their first championship and create one of sports' most enduring examples of playing through pain, died Tuesday. He was 80.
Three-time defending champion Switzerland remained undefeated at the women's world curling championship with a 7-6 win over Canada in Tuesday's afternoon draw.
The NCAA changed its setup for the women's tournament this season, trimming the traditional four regional sites to two. Seattle and Greenville -- a city of 71,000 in South Carolina about halfway between Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina -- will each host eight teams before sending the winners on to Dallas for the Final Four.
U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating complaints from Honda Civic drivers that their steering can stick, causing a momentary increase in effort and increasing the risk of a crash.
The 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 will deliver 1,025 horsepower from its 6.2-litre supercharged V-8, and the automaker says it will be the quickest production car made.
Police in Guelph, Ont. have charged a man who they say failed a driving test before driving off and nearly hitting four people with his vehicle and then deciding to do burnouts in a parking lot.
