(The Canadian Press issued the following story on January 8.)
TORONTO — A VIA rail train en route through southern Ontario from London to Toronto veered off the tracks Thursday morning, stranding passengers and crew while firefighters worked to contain a leak from the engine.
Twenty passengers and four crew members were aboard train 86 when it jumped the tracks early Thursday morning. The train skipped the tracks and came to a halt in New Hamburg, near Waterloo.
Only one injury was reported in connection with the derailment ? a woman spilled and burned herself with coffee when the train skidded, VIA spokeswoman Catherine Kaloutsky said.
Area radio stations were reporting that diesel was leaking from the train’s engine, but VIA could not confirm those reports.
“We do understand that there is a leak from the engine but that’s the extent of the information we have at this time,” Ms. Kaloutsky said.
She said that passengers stranded by the derailment would be ferried to Toronto by a train from Kitchener and would arrive about two hours later than scheduled.
The cause of the derailment is under investigation.