WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Passengers on VIA Rail Canada’s Canadian who found their trip disrupted by a freight-train accident in Saskatchewan on Wednesday were eventually taken to Winnipeg, but left to find their own way home from there, the CBC reports.
The collision between a CN freight train and a farm tractor killed the driver of the tractor, led to the derailment of a locomotive and about 20 cars of the intermodal train, according to the Canadian Press [see “CN train derails …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 16, 2024].
The accident near Gerald, Sask., blocked the path of the eastbound Canadian. The train eventually returned to Melville, Sask., about 48 miles away, where passengers were provided accommodations on Wednesday night, according to the CBC report. On Thursday, passengers were bused to Winnipeg, but then had to find their own onward transportation.
VIA’s online alert says the company would provide “no alternate transportation for passengers whose destination is east of Winnipeg.” The company passengers by email it would refund passengers for the cancelled portion of the trip and would offer a travel credit for journeys to their destination, but one passenger told the CBC that those on board felt abandoned, and were concerned about what transportation option would be available.
(A quick check on a travel website today — Friday, Oct. 18 — for same-day, one-way flights from Winnipeg to Toronto, the Canadian’s destination, shows a ticket for an overnight flight available for as little as $84 U.S. dollars, but nonstop ticket prices climb from there to as much as $659.)
VIA did not respond to the CBC’s request for comment.
Amtrak has acted in similar fashion when such situations arise in the U.S. In July, following a BNSF derailment in Kansas, Southwest Chief trips were cancelled at La Junta, Colo., and Kansas City, Mo. [see “BNSF derailment in Kansas …,” News Wire, July 24, 2024], with no alternate transportation provided beyond those points.
Cleanup continues for the freight derailment in Saskatchewan, which is being investigated by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
Gone are the days when passenger service came first!
Cynical here. Since Amtrak has been getting away with stranding passengers maybe VIA thought “well it worked for Amtrak”.