August 1, 2014

Derailment of a CN train causing the cancellation of VIA Rail trains between Toronto and Ottawa, and Toronto and Montréal

VIA Rail services between Toronto and Ottawa, and Toronto and Montréal disrupted until Saturday, August 2^nd

UPDATE: Despite its best efforts, no alternate transportation is available and no service will be provided for trains leaving from Montreal to Toronto, Toronto to Montreal and Toronto to Ottawa. Services to operate between Montreal and Ottawa.

MONTREAL, August 1, 2014 –An incident involving a CN freight train at 7 km East from Gananoque, Ontario, has affected the VIA Rail passenger trains operating on the Toronto-Montréal and Toronto-Ottawa routes. VIA Rail has installed its contingency plan. The Corporation is currently trying to confirm the availability of alternate transportation in the area. Passengers will be transported to their destinations by motorcoach, depending on availabilities.

Travellers holding reservations for today are encouraged to consider other travel arrangements. Tickets for today’s travel will be reimbursed, without charge.

A car from a CN freight train, involved in the incident, has hit VIA Rail’s train 47 locomotive and a few of its cars. According to the preliminary information available, a minor injury was reported among the approximately 300 passengers on-board the VIA Rail train, which was en route from Ottawa to Toronto.

As a result of this incident, all trains travelling between Toronto and Ottawa, and Toronto and Montréal have been cancelled for the rest of the day, August 1^st. Service will resume as of Saturday, August 2^nd. Passengers en route at the time of the incident and those who were scheduled to travel later today will be transported by motorcoaches.

VIA Rail is making every effort to ensure that their passengers reach their destination as safely and as comfortably as possible. Delays are expected through to the end of the day. VIA Rail apologises for any inconveniences caused by this situation, which is beyond its control. We thank our customers for their understanding.

Service recovery measures such as travel credits will be offered to affected passengers and extra charges paid for Business Class tickets will be reimbursed to affected passengers. Affected passengers wishing to cancel or modify their reservations may do so, regardless of the category of fare paid. For more information, visit viarail.ca, follow VIA Rail Canada on Twitter @VIA_Rail or Facebook, or call toll-free 1-888-VIA-RAIL (1-888-842-7245) or 1-800-268-9503 (hearing-impaired).

About VIA Rail Canada

As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail Canada's (viarail.ca) and its 2,500 employees are mandated to provide safe, efficient and economical passenger transportation service, in both official languages of our country.The Company operates intercity, regional and transcontinental trains linking 450 communities across its 12,500-kilometre network. Recipient of the RAC's Safety Award in 2012 for the 11^th time in 12 years, and of the 2012 Agent's Choice Award voted on by Canadian travel agents and presented by Baxter Travel Media, VIA safely transports nearly four million passengers annually. Since 2007, the Government of Canada has provided VIA Rail with nearly one billion dollars in capital investment funding. Follow the evolution of current projects at viarail.ca/transformingvia.