Via Rail had to cancel 940 trains as of February 28th, due to the Wet’suwet’en anti-pipeline protest blockades that swept across the country. They have been protesting Coastal GasLink’s fossil fuel pipeline construction through their Nation’s unceded territory in British Columbia. It has affected more than 164,000 passengers, but as of Tuesday March 3rd, Via Rail resumes services slowly , including the lines between Toronto-Montreal and Toronto-Ottawa. Partial service on the Montreal-Toronto line resuming as of Tuesday, include the following trains: 62, 63, 68 and 69.
In their Travel Advisory, they note there will be two other departures operating soon, one between Toronto-Vancouver on Wednesday March 4th and then between Vancouver-Toronto Friday March 6th. The Quebec City-Montreal-Ottawa trains, as well as the Montreal-Halifax trains, are currently running on full service.
Further departures are expected to be announced in the next few days, as they are confirmed. Here is a partial overview of other resumed services – however it is recommended you visit the VIA Rail website as this information is subject to change without notice.
Via Rail resumes services slowly
– Montreal-Toronto, Tuesday March 3rd, Trains 68,62,63,69
– Toronto-Ottawa, Tuesday March 3rd, Trains 48,46,42,52,43,47,59
– Toronto- London-Windsor, In full service
– Toronto-Sarnia, In full service
– Toronto-Niagara Falls, In full service
– Quebec City-Montreal-Ottawa, In full service
– The Ocean (Montreal-Halifax), In full service
– The Canadian (Toronto-Vancouver), One departure confirmed for Wednesday March 4th
– The Canadian (Vancouver-Toronto), One departure confirmed for Friday, March 6th
*A list of other resumed services across the country can be found on their website. Passengers already holding tickets, for which the trip’s scheduled departure has not yet passed and is no later than March 12th, have the option of a full refund with no service charges. You can also contact them at 1-888-VIA-RAIL (1-888 842-7245) or TTY 800-268-9503 (deaf or hard of hearing).
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