Via Rail to resume partial service on most routes starting Tuesday
Via Rail is set to resume partial service next Tuesday on most routes that were cancelled due to rail blockades set up by protestors supporting the Wet’suwet’en First Nation.
«Most of Via Rail services will be progressively back in operation, including between Toronto-Montreal and Toronto-Ottawa as of Tuesday, March 3,» spokesperson Marie-Anna Murat said in a statement Friday evening.
«Furthermore, the Canadian will be operating two departures: one on Wednesday, March 4, between Toronto-Vancouver and another on Friday, March 6, between Vancouver and Toronto,» said Murat, referring to the transcontinental passenger train service popular with tourists.
Via Rail said further departures will be confirmed in the coming days and it will be reaching out directly to passengers with reservations to update them on the latest developments.
«We would like to inform all our customers that this transition will take time and have an impact on the reservation system. We thank them for their patience and understanding,» Murat said.
Passenger and freight service has been suspended on those routes for more than two weeks following rail blockades on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, near Belleville, Ont.
Via Rail said 940 trains have been cancelled up to Friday because of the blockades and more than 164, 000 passengers have been affected.
Hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en and senior ministers from Ottawa and B.C. resumed talks earlier on Friday as they work to break the impasse in a pipeline dispute that has sparked protests and rail blockades across the country.
