VIA Rail is warning passengers to expect “significant disruptions” for trains on the Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal-Quebec City corridor today and Tuesday, including lengthy delays and cancellations, as it deals with the aftermath of this weekend’s major winter storm.
The Crown corporation says severe weather caused “multiple frozen switches” on the tracks between Toronto and Montreal on Sunday, and the disruptions created more issues for VIA Rail on Monday.
“The severe weather conditions that disrupted operations on February 16 have impacted the accessibility to the infrastructure and the availability of equipment and crews for certain trains on February 17,” VIA Rail said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.
VIA Rail has cancelled 16 trains today, including Train 37 from Montreal to Ottawa, Train 44 from Toronto to Ottawa, Train 53 from Ottawa to Toronto, and Train 26 from Ottawa to Montreal.
Other trains cancelled on Monday include trains 20, 66, 67, 68, 69, 83, 87, 668, 669, 601 and 603. The Quebec City-Montreal portion of train 33 has been cancelled.
VIA Rail is also reporting delays on several trains departing from and arriving in Ottawa, including a lengthy delay of over four hours on Train for 641. VIA Rail train 50 from Toronto to Ottawa arrived approximately three hours late, and VIA Rail train 52 is scheduled to arrive two hours late.
“The exceptional weather conditions which significantly impacted our operations yesterday have indeed affected availability of equipment and crews for some trains today,” VIA Rail said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa Monday morning.
“The effects of the storm are expected to persist today, and additional cancellations and delays are anticipated on some routes between Québec City and Toronto, including for some trains arriving in Ottawa from other locations. Passengers will be informed directly of the status of their trains and those scheduled to travel on a cancelled train will receive a full refund and a travel credit.”
Trains 72 and 82 along the Quebec-Windsor corridor will be cancelled Tuesday, according to VIA Rail’s website.
“Due to ongoing disruptions, certain VIA Rail trains scheduled for February 18 have also been cancelled,” VIA Rail said.
The storm delivered 37.4 cm of snow to Ottawa, 38 cm to Montreal, 40 to Laval and 20 to 25 cm to Quebec City.
VIA Rail is offering impacted passengers the option to cancel their reservations for departures today and Tuesday without fees.
“Passengers will be informed directly of the status of their trains and those scheduled to travel on a cancelled train will receive a full refund and a travel credit,” VIA Rail said on X. “We sincerely appreciate our passengers' patience and apologize for any inconvenience caused by these extreme weather conditions.”
