Via Rail passengers arrive 12 hours late after night on train in eastern Ontario

Via Rail passengers arrived in Ottawa more than 12 hours late on Thursday, after “serious mechanical issues” forced them to spend the night sitting on a train in Brockville, Ont.

Via Rail trains 48 and 54 travelling from Toronto to Ottawa Wednesday evening were “significantly disrupted” after train 669, travelling from Montreal to Toronto, “experienced a mechanical failure,” according to Via Rail.

The 114 passengers on trains 48 and 54 were stuck on a train in Brockville overnight and into Thursday morning, before being transferred to a new train and arriving in Ottawa just before noon.

“There was a good sense of camaraderie on the train,” passenger Rafi Rahman told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Ottawa at Work with Patricia Boal Thursday morning.

“Surprisingly, everybody on the train was pretty calm and collected. There was no audible frustration from any passengers, but talking to folks on the train you can tell there was frustration with Via for not being very transparent with us.”

Via Rail said the issue began Wednesday evening when train 669 experienced a “mechanical failure near Brockville.”

“After several attempts to restore the disabled 669 train by coupling it to a rescue train were unsuccessful, our crews carried out a transfer from train to train,” Via said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa Thursday afternoon.

“Passengers from train 669 were transferred to train 54, passengers from train 54 were then transferred to train 48. Train 54 then left as the new train 669 and arrived in Toronto with 8 hours and 30 minutes of delay. All passengers were transferred safely and without injury, and our teams continue to work to support customers as best as possible under challenging conditions. No buses were available in the region to provide alternative transportation. “

Via Rail said train 48 was deployed to support the rescue operation for train 669 and had been holding in Brockville “while the disabled equipment from train 669 is secured on the main line.”

Rahman said he was on train 48 travelling to Ottawa.

“We coupled with the dead locomotive to push it out of the way, because it was blocking that track. In that process, I guess coupling it took longer than expected and then, at some point, since that took so long, the engineers of our train had worked the maximum hours for the day shift,” Rahman said, describing the situation when passengers from train 54 were transferred onboard.

“We had to get replacement engineers and that took a long time.”

He added, “we had heat, electricity and lights” on the train.

Rahman said passengers were told shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday that another Via Rail train en route to Ottawa would be available for passengers to finish the trip to Smiths Falls and Ottawa from Brockville.

Another passenger told CTV News Ottawa in an email that “nothing has happened” after spending a night on the train.

“Plans were made for the two trains becoming one moving on with their journey. After spending the whole night here, we are still on the tracks at Brockville and not moving,” the passenger said.

“We are told that Via Rail is looking for options to evacuate us all, but it has been more than 10 hours that nothing has happened.”

‘Left in the dark’

Sophie Lambell was travelling from Toronto to Ottawa for work when it turned into an overnight train ride. She tells CTV News Ottawa she attempted to sleep on the floor of the trian.

“There were no blankets, no pillows, no nothing. Even though it wasn’t cold, it wasn’t particularly the most comforting environment to be in,” Lambell said.

“I think it was just being left in the dark that irked people the most.”

She expressed frustration with the lack of information from Via about the delay.

“By the time it was 7 a.m., they said, you know you can get off the train in Brockville if you want. If there’s people that can come to pick you up,” Lambell said.

“But a lot of people were stranded. We ended up boarding the train at 9:30 a.m. I think that’s what irritated people the most; there was a sense of camaraderie and people were trying to sleep on the floor and they did bring snacks. It’s just the absolute lack of transparency.”

Lambell joked in the time she travelled to Ottawa on the train she could have travelled to Tokyo.

Via Rail apologizes

In a statement, Via Rail apologized to all passengers on the trains.

“This is not the level of service that Canadians expect from Via Rail, and it is not the level of service we want to provide,” the Crown corporation said.

“While incidents like this are very rare, we recognize that this is not the first time passengers have experienced extended delays during mechanical issues, and even one such incident is too many. We are conducting a full review of the mechanical failure, including the shutdown of the equipment involved, to understand what happened and to strengthen both our operations and our response.”

Via Rail said all affected customers would receive a full refund and a 100 per cent travel credit.

Trains delayed on Thursday

At least two Via Rail trains travelling from Ottawa to Toronto are delayed on Thursday.

According to the Via Rail train tracker, train 641 departed Ottawa more than two hours late and is scheduled to arrive in Toronto four hours late.

Train 41 from Ottawa to Toronto departed over 90 minutes late and is scheduled to arrive in Toronto three hours late.

There is no word on why the trains have been delayed.