(Canwest News Service circulated the following story on July 31.)
MONTREAL — All of Via Rail’s disrupted service between Toronto and Montreal, and Toronto and Ottawa, is expected to be fully restored this morning after an early-morning derailment of a Canadian National freight train blocked two main commuter tracks yesterday.
Five cars from the CN train carrying corn derailed at 2:45 a.m. yesterday just outside Kingston, Ont.
There was minor damage to the tracks, CN spokesperson Julie Senécal said.
The disruption forced Via Rail to arrange for buses to transport passengers to their destinations. Via Rail often uses tracks operated by CN.
More than 1,300 passengers were affected by the disruptions as of yesterday afternoon, said Via Rail spokesperson, Malcolm Andrews.
The two routes are Via Rail’s busiest in Canada, he added.
Another Via Rail spokesperson, Catherine Kaloutsky, said passengers can receive a 50-per- cent travel credit for the portion of their travel that was disrupted yesterday. The credit is good for six months.
Preliminary investigations indicate the derailment was caused by a mechanical failure of the knuckle, the mechanism used to couple cars together, Senécal said.
The 144-car freight train was travelling from Toronto to Montreal at the time of the incident, she said.
The two employees aboard the CN train were uninjured.