(The following story by Michelle Ruby appeared on the Brantford Expositor website on July 28, 2009.)
ONTARIO — Via Rail is back on track after a two-day strike that complicated travel plans over the weekend.
Trains were running as usual Monday morning at the Brantford station on Wadsworth Street after Via Rail Canada and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference agreed to enter into binding arbitration early Sunday to end the brief strike.
Via Rail spokesperson Ashley Doyle said there was full train service across the country by Monday morning. The quick conclusion to the strike was due to significant impact on tourism and travel during one of the busiest travel periods of the year, Doyle said.
“It’s great news that it’s over,” said Nancy Giordano, a Brantford resident who has been catching the morning train into Toronto for several years. “I’m very relieved.”
With Via’s 343 locomotive engineers set to walk off the job at noon on Friday, Giordano and her daughter, Stacey Giordano, drove into Toronto, leaving their home at 5:30 a. m. to beat the rush-hour traffic. Nancy said the morning commute by train -they catch the 7:30 a. m. Toronto-bound -is faster and stress-free.
But Stacey said that while commuters would have survived a lengthier strike, she is concerned for those who “cancelled their vacation plans when they could have made other arrangements.”
Via issued a news release Sunday night offering a 60% discount to customers who purchase tickets for trips until Dec. 14. The tickets must be purchased no later than Wednesday at midnight.
“This is a chance to say think you to passengers and welcome everyone back on board,” said Doyle. “I think that both sides, at the end of the day, wanted to get the trains running again for the customers.”
In the coming weeks, an arbitrator will hear submissions from both sides on the outstanding issues and will then impose a settlement that will be binding on both the union and the company.
The union’s 340 engineers have been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2006. They’re looking for improved wages and benefits, scheduling that allows them two consecutive days off, and increased training schedules for engineers.
They walked off the job on Friday, halting passenger train service across Canada and disrupting travel plans for thousands of people.
About 2,500 Via employees who had been temporarily laid off over the weekend have been called back to work.
Every week, Via operates 503 inter-city, transcontinental and regional trains linking 450 communities across its 12,500-kilo-metre route network.
In 2008, the company transported 4.6 million passengers – the most since 1989 -and set an all-time record of $299 million in revenue. That amounts to nearly12,000 passengers a day.
Up to 85% of its business is between Quebec City and Windsor.
For details about Via’s discounted tickets, go to viarail.caor call 1-888-842-7245.