Transport minister didn't speak to Via Rail during holiday travel chaos
CBC
Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra was not personally in contact with officials at Via Rail during the Christmas winter storm that left hundreds of passengers stranded for hours on a disabled train, the railway's executives told a House of Commons committee Thursday.
The executives told MPs on the transport committee that while Via Rail was liaising with Transport Canada and staff in the minister's office during the travel debacle, the railway did not hear from Alghabra until a meeting on Jan. 11 — two weeks after the situation was resolved.
As transport minister, Alghbra is responsible for federally regulated sectors like air and rail travel. He's also the minister in charge of Via Rail, a Crown corporation.
Conservative MP Mark Strahl, the party's transport critic, said it's unacceptable that it took so long for the minister to meet with Via Rail to discuss what was a scary situation for passengers — some of whom spent more than 18 hours stuck aboard Train 55 between Dec. 23 and 24 under trying conditions because of a downed tree.
Via Rail also cancelled all train service on the Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal route for a four-day period between Dec. 23 and 26. The company said downed trees, prolonged power outages, frozen switches and a derailment made operations impossible.
Speaking to reporters at an event on Islamophobia, Alghabra said what passengers went through was "unacceptable" and he "shared that point of view with Via and the CEO of Via."
Alghabra said the corporation must do all it can to ensure "these types of things never happen again."
WATCH: Via Rail disruptions 'unacceptable,' Alghabra says
Via Rail executives faced tough questions from MPs about the conditions on Train 55, which was stalled near Cobourg, Ont. after a tree fell on the train.
The railway said the train was isolated on CN-owned tracks and CN wasn't able to safely get to the train to clear the tree in a timely manner, which left passengers in dire straits.
Via Rail apologized Thursday to passengers who did not have access to adequate food and water during the hours-long ordeal and said they're reviewing why staff charged some stranded passengers for the little food that was on board.
The other issue was the state of the on-board washrooms — many of which were unsanitary and, at times, overflowing with human waste.
Rita Toporowski, Via Rail's chief customer officer, said it was inappropriate to charge for food after an overnight delay. She said the company would consider refunding passengers who were charged for food and drinks on board. The company already has refunded Train 55 passengers the full cost of their tickets.
Via Rail also said it was sorry for not communicating effectively with passengers on Train 55 and other routes.
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