Via Rail confirmed that passengers were stuck for 10 hours on Saturday when a train broke down between Montreal and Quebec City after experiencing two consecutive mechanical issues.
Canada’s transport minister to meet with Via Rail leadership this week
Sabrina Jonas · CBC News
· Posted: Sep 02, 2024 7:26 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago
Via Rail confirmed that passengers were stuck for 10 hours on Saturday when a train broke after experiencing two consecutive mechanical issues. (Jacob Barker/CBC)
Via Rail passengers are speaking out after their train from Montreal to Quebec City broke down, leaving them stranded for about 10 hours over the long weekend with a lack of food, water and access to a toilet for prolonged intervals.
Rudy El Maghariki says what he expected to be a three-and-a-half-hour trip on Saturday became a 14-hour ordeal.
“We were just tired, we were hungry, we were thirsty. We couldn’t go out,” he said, saying it became almost impossible to breathe after so many hours without fresh air.
Like many others on train 622, El Maghariki expected to arrive in Quebec City around noon for a weekend visit. But he says the train came to a stop about 45 minutes away from the destination.
He said staff members initially told passengers the train was having some mechanical and technical issues, but he said after hours, there was still no update — and people were getting upset and restless.
“There was no communication … nobody was telling us anything,” El Maghariki said.
Rudy El Maghariki says there was poor communication from Via Rail staff, and even five hours into the delay, passengers still had to pay for snacks. (CBC)
Via Rail confirmed that passengers were stuck for 10 hours on Saturday when a train broke after experiencing two consecutive mechanical issues. The company said no buses were available in the region to offer alternative transportation.
Electricity, air conditioning and washrooms were shut down at times to allow for repairs and coupling with another train, the company said.
But it insisted that passengers were offered beverages and snacks throughout the day, and that a meal was delivered on board with additional water in the evening.
El Maghariki, however, said five hours into the delay, he still had to pay $6.50 for a bagel for his sister.
“It’s not about the value, it’s about the principle,” he said.
Eventually, staff began handing out free snacks and water — but supplies quickly ran out.
‘I have this much water left’
Vancouver resident Carmel Tanaka, who was on board the train to Quebec City to meet a cousin for the first time, says at one point, a staff member came around showing passengers a jug with a limited amount of water.
“‘I have this much water left. Are you really dehydrated? If so, I can give this to you,'” she recalls them saying. “That’s how dire the situation was.”
Tanaka, who has a master’s degree in emergency and disaster management, says everything that went wrong was “textbook” poor emergency preparedness.
“I said [to a staff member], ‘before the tide changes and people start to fight back, you need to feed us, you need to order pizza now, you need to order buses, Ubers, whatever you need,'” she said.
But frustration had already started to boil over. A video posted to social media shows a Via Rail employee snatching a passenger’s phone from his hands. The passenger appears to be filming in the aisle as he’s told to sit down by the employee.
Via Rail said it is investigating that incident and says appropriate measures will be taken following a review.
Around 8:30 p.m. — more than nine hours since the train stopped — staff members bought pizza, but not enough for the whole train, El Maghariki said.
Tanaka said two rows in front of her, an individual with diabetes reached a point where they needed medical attention. She said an ambulance was called and they were escorted off the train.
“They were trying to fix [the train] instead of finding solutions,” she said.
“I mean if you can call a pizza delivery, you can also call shuttles and buses, you can do other things and you can figure out a way to get us to our next destination.”
On Sunday, Federal Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez said he is determined to get to the bottom of the delay and he will meet with Via Rail leadership this week.
“Passengers deserve better,” Rodriguez said on X.
Unusable credit for ride home
The fire department was eventually called to help transfer passengers from one train to another, with passengers reaching their destination 10 hours late.
In a statement on Sunday, Via Rail said it offers its deepest apologies for the inconvenience caused to passengers and will provide a full refund to anyone affected.
Passengers say the company is providing a cash refund equivalent to to the price of their one-way ticket. A credit for the same amount to buy a future trip will also be provided, but it can’t be applied to an existing ticket.
“So you cannot use that credit to let’s say go back [to Montreal],” El Maghariki said, saying the financial compensation is already too little.
He is travelling back to Montreal with his pre-booked ticket on Via Rail Monday, but he says he’s not yet recovered from his trip up. He is stocking up on food and water just in case.
Tanaka, who also already purchased her return trip, wished Via Rail had made an exception to their policy to allow people to use the credit for those returning to Montreal.
Or, “they should have paid for my poutine when I got to Quebec City,” she said with a laugh.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sabrina Jonas is a digital reporter with CBC Montreal. She was previously based at CBC Toronto after graduating from Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Journalism. Sabrina has a particular interest in social justice issues and human interest stories. Drop her an email at sabrina.jonas@cbc.ca
with files from the Canadian Press, Rowan Kennedy and Paula Dayan-Perez
