Via Rail passengers stranded in Brockville after 13-hour delays

Via Rail passengers stranded in Brockville, Ont., now include people travelling between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal after significant problems with trains south of Ottawa. They have spent about 13 hours in Brockville with no clear timeline for when their trips will resume, as reported by CBC News.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

How Via Rail Train 669 failure caused the delays?

According to a statement from Via Rail, Via Rail Train 669 experienced a mechanical failure near Brockville on Wednesday evening. When crews were unable to repair the problem on the tracks, passengers from Train 669 were moved onto another Via Rail train running along the Montreal–Toronto Via Rail route. This incident on Train 669 then caused knock-on disruption for other services using the same line.

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Because of that failure, trains 48 and 54 from Toronto to Ottawa also faced a major Toronto–Ottawa train delay. Passengers on both services have been in Brockville since around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Morgan Davis, who was travelling on Train 48, told CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning that the original plan was to swap trains so that people from the broken train could board his. “Originally … we were going to switch trains and those passengers would take our train,” he said. “In the end, those passengers hopped on with us.” Davis noted that communication has been weak and many travellers feel frustrated because they have not been clearly told why they are still in Brockville.

Toronto–Ottawa Via Rail delay and impact on families

The long delay has affected not only people on board but also those waiting at stations along the route. Alan Drummond, a doctor from Perth, Ont., told CBC he spent about six hours at the Smiths Falls train station waiting to pick up his daughter before giving up around 3 a.m. on Thursday. By about 8:30 a.m. the same morning, he instead drove to Brockville to meet her there, showing how the Via Rail passengers stranded in Brockville have disrupted plans for travellers and their families.

A Via Rail spokesperson acknowledged the incident but would not say whether the mechanical problem was connected to snowfall warnings in eastern Ontario on Wednesday. The company’s statement said the issue is under review. The spokesperson also explained that the devices needed to repair the broken train are being brought in on different trains heading toward Brockville.

Via Rail is allowing passengers to leave the train in Brockville, but, according to the spokesperson, it is not providing alternative transportation such as replacement buses or other options on site. In its statement, the company apologized for the situation and said passengers affected by the Brockville, Ont. train disruption will receive a full refund as well as a travel credit toward a future trip, a form of compensation also discussed by Railway Supply.

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