OttawaSignificant problems with Via Rail trains south of Ottawa stranded passengers coming from Toronto for several hours overnight.Passengers stuck on stalled train for 12 hours say they’ve received little informationCBC News · Posted: Dec 11, 2025 9:20 AM EST | Last Updated: 15 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Via Rail passengers heading from Toronto to Ottawa have been stuck in Brockville overnight Wednesday into Thursday. (Mykhaylo Byelostotskiy)Significant problems with Via Rail trains south of Ottawa stranded passengers for more than 12 hours overnight.Via Rail Train 669 “experienced a mechanical failure” near Brockville, Ont., on Wednesday evening, according to Via in a statement. When they couldn’t fix that train, the company said its passengers were transferred to another train.That route goes from Montreal to Toronto.That also disrupted trains 48 and 54 from Toronto to Ottawa, whose passengers were in Brockville from around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday until 10:30 a.m. Thursday when they were put on another train.”Thankfully [the train] was heated, thankfully we were being fed, there was water.… We were taken care of,” said Kiya Parvar, a passenger on Train 48.”But … today is a complete write-off for my work because I didn’t sleep.”Morgan Davis told CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning that he and other passengers on Train 48 were frustrated because they weren’t clearly told why they were stuck in Brockville.Alan Drummond, a doctor in Perth, Ont., told CBC he waited at the Smiths Falls train station for about six hours to pick up his daughter, until he gave up around 3 a.m.As of around 8:30 a.m. Thursday, he went to Brockville to get her.No alternatives offeredA Via Rail spokesperson would not tell CBC News whether the mechanical problem had anything to do with the snowfall warnings in place across eastern Ontario on Wednesday. The Via statement said the problem is under review.The spokesperson said devices needed to fix the broken train were on the way on different trains.Before passengers were picked up, Via Rail was allowing people to get off the train in Brockville, but is not providing alternative transportation, the spokesperson said.Via apologized in its statement, saying it’s offering passengers a full refund and travel credit toward a future trip.”Obviously, Via Rail has had incidents like this in the past and we have directed that they get much better at issues that may arise on a line,” federal Transport Minister Steve MacKinnon said Thursday.”We understand … it’s a Canadian winter and things happen. However, when these things do happen, the response is critical and we want Via Rail to continue to improve on that.”WATCH | The transport minister’s comments:Transport minister asked about Via train delay that left passengers stranded overnightTransport Minister Steven MacKinnon was asked Thursday about a Via Rail train that was stalled for at least 12 hours, leaving passengers stranded. MacKinnon stressed that in situations such as this, ‘the response is critical’ and that the government wants Via to ‘continue to improve.’
Via Rail passengers finally on the move after being stranded overnight in Brockville, Ont.
