One-hundred seventy-five passengers on a Via Rail train travelling from Halifax to Montreal were forced to disembark in a central Nova Scotia community on Sunday after The Ocean experienced mechanical issues.
The train departed Halifax late this morning, but had a mechanical issue outside of Truro, N.S., early this afternoon. Truro is roughly 100 kilometres north of Halifax.
Passenger Luke Thompson and his wife were heading to Amherst, N.S., with their six children after a weekend visit to see family in Halifax.
He said passengers first realized there was a problem when the train stopped for about 30 minutes outside of Truro. The rail car he was in lost air conditioning.
“They made sure we were well taken care of,” Thompson said, noting they were given sandwiches free of charge.
After the delay, the train managed to get to Truro, where passengers got off.
Thompson said he was impressed with the crew’s focus on safety.
In a statement, Via Rail said it was arranging for passengers who embarked in Halifax to get to their destinations by bus.
It said other passengers who were set to board the train after Truro have been told it is cancelled and will receive a full refund and a travel credit.
Thompson said his family was told they could get a full refund and arrange their own transportation. Via’s website also says that customers who await a transportation option from Via get a 50 per cent refund as well.
Thompson said after a four-hour wait, a bus was set to arrive to take his family to Truro.
“You can’t pull buses out of thin air,” he said.
Thompson said other passengers were frustrated, especially those awaiting transportation to locations farther along the route.
As scheduled, the train would have arrived in Montreal on Monday morning.
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