OTTAWA, Ontario — Canada’s transport minister said this weekend that he plans to meet with VIA Rail Canada officials after a passengers on a train bound for Quebec City were stranded for more than 10 hours, with one alleging “aggressive” behavior by a train crew member when passengers complained.
The Canadian Press reports Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez plans to meet with VIA officials this week. In a post on social media site X, Rodriguez reposted a French-language news report of the incident and wrote, “This is unacceptable and we will get to the bottom of this. … Passengers deserve better.”
CityNews reports that the incident occurred Saturday, Aug. 31, and involved a train that sustained two mechanical malfunctions, turning what should have been a 2½-hour trip from Montreal into one that took 13 hours. Eventually, a visiting passenger from Texas told CityNews, an employee pushed one passenger while telling everyone to sit down, prompting others to begin recording the incident on cellphone. That passenger, Chip Malt, was one of those, and had the unidentified employee take his cellphone.
Malt said the train had run out of food after about three hours and ran out of water after about six hours. The train finally arrived in Quebec City about 10 p.m.
VIA told the Canadian Press that passengers were offered beverages and snacks throughout the day and that a meal and additional water was delivered in the evening. No buses were available to provide alternate transportation, the company said; a local fire department was eventually called in to help transfer passengers to another train.
The company said it was investigating the report of the cellphone incident and appropriate measures will be taken following a review. It also offered apologies for the incident and said it would provide a full refund to those affected.
Of course, before HEP. passenger cars DID have individual batteries and axle-driven generators. Heat was steam supplied from the locomotive and A/C was electric powered from the same batteries. With A/C the batteries did not last long when the train stopped or was moving slowly.
How would have the same situation ended on an Amtrak train?
Mr Sprenger, a similar fiasco occurred on a Michigan – Chicago Amtrak train within the past year or so. There were power outage and plumbing malfunction. Many passengers abandoned the train on foot for alternative transportation.
Passenger cars should be equipped with individual batteries rather than be at the mercy of HEP in the locomotive. Blackouts would be eliminated when locomotives are uncoupled, changed, or malfunction.
Yup, could happen here. And has.