(Bloomberg News circulated the following story by Sean B. Pasternak and Hugo Miller on February 19.)
TORONTO — VIA Rail Canada and GO Transit delayed and rerouted some passenger trains in Ontario after a Canadian National Railway Co. freight train derailed yesterday near Burlington.
VIA Rail, which operates Canada’s passenger-train service, said in a statement today there will be “significant delays” on its Toronto-Brantford-London-Windsor and Toronto-Niagara Falls routes.
Nineteen railcars jumped off the tracks at about 1 a.m. yesterday near Burlington because of a broken wheel on one of the cars, Canadian National spokesman Bryan Tucker said by telephone.
Two of three lines have been cleared and are operational, and the railway is working to clear the third, Tucker said without indicating when that might be. There were no injuries, and no dangerous liquids or chemicals leaked, he said.
GO Transit, which runs commuter trains to Toronto, Canada’s financial hub, said on its Web site that there will be no train service for Hamilton and Aldershot, and that passengers will be shuttled by buses between those stations. GO Transit carries about 170,000 passengers each weekday, according to its Web site.
GO, VIA and Canadian National share lines in much of southern Ontario, creating delays for commuters when there are derailments or other incidents. Montreal-based Canadian National is the country’s biggest railroad operator.