Via Rail service resumes after derailment

CTV News Channel: Learning from Lac Megantic Raynald Marchand of the Canada Safety Council discusses the most common causes of train derailments.

Train service between Montreal and Toronto and Ottawa and Toronto has returned to normal following a derailment early Thursday morning.

Passengers travelling between Montreal and Toronto have been forced to take buses since Thursday, following an early morning derailment near Brockville, Ont.

Via Rail said Thursday it had been hoping to get the trains rolling Friday, then announced Friday morning that the tracks require repairs which will only be completed Saturday.

Friday afternoon, Via said the 6 p.m. Toronto-Montreal train (#668) and the 6:30 p.m. Montreal-Toronto train (#669) departed as scheduled.

Service also resumed between Toronto and Ottawa Saturday morning.

The early-morning train derailment forced about 3,600 travellers onto the buses, provided by the company.

Via Rail organized alternate bus transport for the travellers, although they admitted that they had considerable difficulty in finding buses during the vacation season.

The derailment, which did not involve a Via Rail train, occurred at about 4 a.m. and involved 26 cars. No injuries were reported.

Twelve of the train cars were designed to carry gasoline but were empty at the time. The other freight wagons included two carrying automobiles, five carrying carbon powder and six wagons that were empty at the time of the derailment.

Train service between Montreal and Ottawa and between Toronto and Kingston was not interrupted.

There were 13 unloaded fuel cars among the derailed cars, as well as five cars containing carbon powder, CN officials told CTV Ottawa's Lois Lee Thursday. The freight train also included two loaded automobile carriers.

Those affected will receive compensation in the form of half-price off for their next train trip.

CN and the Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the derailment.

-- with files from CTVNews.ca