The Via passenger rail service faced significant overnight disruptions across eastern Ontario after one of its trains suffered a mechanical failure near Brockville.
Passengers aboard Train 669 were reportedly stuck for over 13 hours after a “mechanical failure” occurred on the tracks. The issue also prompted delays to trains 48 and 54, according to a statement from Via Rail.
Rail officials said the incident caused extensive service impacts, with passengers experiencing hours-long delays in challenging weather conditions.
According to the operator, multiple attempts to repair the disabled train on site were unsuccessful.
Crews allowed passengers to disembark from the train and later carried out a full passenger transfer to move passengers into another working train to continue the journey.
The company said the process was completed safely and there were no reported injuries.
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In a statement to Global News detailing the rescue operation, Via Rail said passengers from Train 669 were transferred to Train 54, while passengers from Train 54 were moved to Train 48.
Train 54 then departed as the new Train 669, arriving in Toronto with an 8.5-hour delay.
Train 48, which was deployed to support the rescue operation, remained in Brockville to secure the disabled train.
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As of 10:30 a.m., on Thursday, after being detrained from Train 48 to the Brockville station, 114 passengers reboarded onto Train 50 en route to Ottawa, which arrived later in the afternoon.
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Several passengers described a freezing, chaotic, and exhausting night, including Carol McIntyre aboard train 669, who spoke with Global News after arriving home.
McIntyre said she had been travelling from Montreal to Oshawa and expected to arrive shortly after 10 p.m. “We left at 6:08pm last night and got in twelve hours later to Oshawa,” she said. “So it was a long night.”
McIntyre said the train came to a sudden stop shortly after 8:30 p.m.
“Our train just all of a sudden stopped and for a couple of hours there was just the occasional announcement saying that they were having engine problems,” she said. “We were just left there stranded.”
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At one point, passengers were sitting in darkness and cold.
“For a while we had power and then the power and the heat went out… It was a cold night, so they started giving us rescue blankets, those thermal blankets.”
McIntyre said that just after 1 a.m., another train pulled up alongside hers so passengers could switch trains but she expressed that the transfer wasn’t easy.
She said passengers had to “literally jump” from one train to the next.
“I’m only five feet tall,” she said. “I handed some gentlemen my luggage and then I had to go backwards down this ladder in the dark.”
Despite the difficult conditions, McIntyre said passengers stayed calm. “I was actually really, really impressed by all the other passengers because I did not hear one unkind word. I didn’t hear any grumbling.”
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But she said she was surprised that no alternative transportation was provided. “I would have thought they would send buses for us or something, and nothing at all. No, wasn’t impressed.”
In a statement provided to Global News, Via Rail added that no buses were available in the region to provide alternative transportation.
Another passenger who was on the rescue train headed to Ottawa, also shared her experience, saying that she expected a short delay, not an overnight ordeal.
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“I was thinking, you know, an hour here, it’s not a big deal… Now I’m sixteen hours into this,” she said. “I do regret not just jumping into a taxi at my first opportunity.”
Schofield described a sleepless night after passengers from two trains were condensed into one. “No, I couldn’t try to sleep,” she said.
She said by morning, they were still in Brockville, and after three hours with no update, they were told to find their own transportation.
“Some people walked like 30 minutes in the snow to the car rental place,” Schofield said.
The company has since relayed that they “sincerely apologize” and are issuing refunds and credits.
“All affected customers will receive a full refund and a 100% travel credit,” the company said in a statement.
Staff worked through the night to support passengers as temperatures dropped and conditions deteriorated.
Incidents of this kind are “very rare,” the rail service noted, but acknowledged that “even one such experience is too many.”
A comprehensive review of the mechanical failure is now underway to determine the cause and identify ways to strengthen both operations and emergency response procedures.
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Passengers can continue to track service updates and real-time train movements through the operator’s online tracking tools.
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