(The following story by Jamie Ngo and Brian Gray appeared on the Toronto Sun website on July 19.)
TORONTO — Via Rail passengers are already considering putting their travel plans on another track as the clock ticks toward a Sunday strike deadline.
Linda Thomas and daughter Samantha, 16, visiting from Birmingham, England, boarded a Montreal-bound Via train at Union Station yesterday. They are scheduled to return on Via in five days.
“We could have a problem if we can’t get back,” said Thomas, scheduled to fly home after arriving back in Toronto. “We might have had second thoughts if we would have known.”
Via Rail spokesman Seychelle Harding said all passengers will be looked after in the event of a strike. “We’re not going to leave people stranded,” Harding said.
But the company remains hopeful a deal can be reached before the 12:01 a.m. deadline Sunday. Three separate bargaining units are talking right now, said Bob Chernecki, assistant to CAW president Buzz Hargrove.
Station workers, including clerks and ticket sellers, workers who provide service onboard trains and skilled labourers who service the trains and locomotives are all in a strike position, he said.
“We made some gains (Tuesday) night,” Chernecki said. “But we haven’t touched the economic issues yet.”
Chernecki said the union remains upbeat about the chance of a settlement after bargaining sessions went to 1 a.m. yesterday.