(Reuters circulated the following story on April 21.)
MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway Co. said on Saturday it had restored rail service on its Toronto-Montreal corridor after aboriginal protesters lifted their blockade of the line.
CN, Canada’s largest railway, said its customers can expect a delay in the delivery of their shipments.
VIA Rail, the Canadian government-owned passenger rail company, said it would resume service between Montreal and Toronto and Ottawa and Toronto in the late afternoon Saturday. It would also resume ticket sales for those routes.
VIA Rail said it was expecting delays of two to three hours on the Montreal-Toronto corridor because of heavy congestion on the rail line.
Native protesters blocked the freight and passenger rail line near Napanee, Ontario, east of Toronto, on Friday in a demonstration over disputed land.
The protest, by members of the Bay of Quinte Mohawks, on CN’s main line, had forced forced Via Rail to use buses on its busiest passenger route.
CN had obtained a court injunction to open the line, which carries more than C$100 million ($89 million) in freight every day, but protesters had vowed to stay in place until at least Saturday.
The two dozen or so protesters parked a former school bus on the tracks and set up a small camp with chairs and a fire. They want the provincial government to shut down a gravel quarry operating on land the Mohawks say belongs to them. ($1=$1.12 Canadian)