OTTAWA -- Via Rail is elaborating on how it plans to monitor and restrict travellers exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms from boarding its trains.

Designated rail workers at Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec stations will perform health checks involving a series of questions to identify who can and cannot board. Via Rail police and security will be on site to ensure rules are followed, according to a statement obtained by CTV News.

Questions include:

  • Do you have a fever or a cough?
  • Do you have breathing difficulties?
  • Have you been refused boarding by a company or any other carrier in the past 14 days due to a medical reason related to the COVID-19?
  • Are you subject to a provincial or local public health order?

"The Station Agent, the Service Manager or the Senior Service Attendant must advise every traveller not to provide answers to the above mentioned questions in a way that they know to be false or misleading," reads the statement.

If travellers are showing symptoms, answer yes, or refuse to answer the questions above, they will not be permitted to board.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that starting Monday at noon, domestic travel by plane or train will be banned for those exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19. He doubled down on this call on Monday, saying these additional inspection procedures are as much an alert for rail workers as they are for passengers to "stay home" and avoid unnecessary travel.

"[It's] an additional measure, an additional encouragement and expectation that people who have symptoms of a cold or of COVID-19 will not travel, that is extremely important," said Trudeau.

Other measures at rail boarding sites include familiar public health recommendations such as maintaining a two-metre distance between people while in line.

Travellers who are denied boarding cannot access the rail service for 14 days, "or until a medical certificate is presented that confirms that his/her symptoms are not related to COVID-19," reads the statement.

Via Rail also said it will accept international passengers without symptoms arriving to Canada who are required to self-isolate for 14-days at home, while those with symptoms are required to find their own means of private transportation.

"It should be noted that this is not the case for international passengers with symptoms who must use private transport to get to the place where the quarantine will be carried out and who will therefore be refused access to our trains, in the same way as any other passenger showing symptoms at the time of boarding," reads the statement.