Via Rail set to resume train service, but air travel remains a problem

Via Rail is expected to resume train service between Toronto and Ottawa or Montreal on Tuesday – but problems persist for those traveling by air.

Elsewhere, the state of emergency remained in the Niagara region, and while road closures were lifted in Prince Edward County – drivers faced traffic violations for passing the night over Christmas – people were told to stay home on Monday and only go out for essential trips.

Via Rail said that although the trains were canceled again on Dec. 26 due to a derailment that affected Toronto-Ottawa and Toronto-Montreal travel, they « will be reopened from here (Tuesday) ».

In a statement to the Star, VIA said it « plans to run all trains in both directions between Toronto-Ottawa and Toronto-Montreal on December 27 with a modified schedule », which it says will mean 28 trips. grouped into 14.

« Due to the expected congestion on these routes, we would like to advise our passengers that trains may experience significant delays departing and/or en route, » VIA’s media relations team wrote.

Sunwing, which has canceled flights leaving vacationers stranded in places like Cancun, said via social media that the baggage carousel at Terminal 3 at Pearson airport was not working and « therefore we cannot guarantee that customers’ checked baggage will accompany on their southbound flights from Toronto.

Air Canada said on Monday « we are in recovery mode as the severe storms have now passed parts of Canada and the weather is normalizing. »

« Despite the extreme and unprecedented weather conditions, thanks to the hard work of our employees in extreme conditions, we have safely transported hundreds of thousands of customers over the past few days. Employees are working hard to help customers and, While we get our displaced aircraft and crews back into position and on schedule, we also continue to assess opportunities to add additional capacity.

On Monday, Pearson said Terminal 3 baggage had been « fully functional since 4.30am after a combination of cold machines, delayed arrivals and departing flights caused backups on Christmas Day ».

However, he also warned that « some passengers on flights departing from Terminal 3 on December 26 may see baggage delays with machinery and airline staff working in extreme cold. Pearson will work with affected airlines to minimize delays and maintain baggage flow.”

Sunwing said in a statement that « we sincerely regret the impact on our customers’ travel plans during the busy holiday period…Our teams are working hard to rehabilitate customers by providing aircraft maintenance to the extent possible, in addition to arranging alternative hotels and transfers for those arriving with overnight delays.

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