Labour Day train delay isolated incident, Via Rail CEO tells MPs

The head of Via Rail repeatedly told MPs a train delay over the Labour Day long weekend was an isolated incident, despite a similar event two years ago.

The head of Via Rail repeatedly told MPs a train delay over the Labour Day long weekend was an isolated incident, despite a similar event two years ago.

MPs pressed Via Rail executives about why the incident occurred even though Via Rail made changes following similar disruptions during the 2022 holiday season.

"Although we know now that it was not a single failure but a series of events, unfortunately, the breakdown of two weeks ago reminds us of what happened in December 2022," Peloquin said.

"While Via Rail successfully implemented the key learnings and recommendations from 2022, this most recent incident revealed significant shortcomings which we are addressing."

"I want to reiterate that I am deeply sorry for what happened," he said.

Peloquin said the delays in 2022 were caused by an ice storm that had caused a tree to fall on the railway, while the latest incident was due to two separate mechanical failures.

Ottawa has already told Via Rail to make changes and asked it to conduct an independent investigation into the incident.