Canada: VIA Rail service to resume between Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City February 24 /update 4

Event

VIA Rail announced on Saturday, February 22, that service between Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City is expected to resume on Monday, February 24. Service had been temporarily suspended on Wednesday, February 19, after protesters erected a new rail blockade in St-Lambert (Quebec). All other VIA Rail service except for the Sudbury-White River (CP Rail) and Churchill-The Pas (Hudson Bay Railway) lines remains suspended and passengers will not be able to book a ticket before Wednesday, February 26. Further service cancelations or delays to the resumption of trains are possible over the coming days and weeks. Additional information can be found on the VIA Rail website here.

As of Saturday, Exo service on the Mont-Saint-Hilaire and Candiac lines in Quebec also remains disrupted indefinitely due to the ongoing protests. Additional buses are being deployed to maintain commuter service and rail tickets are being accepted on some buses. Updates to Exo service can be found on the company website here.

Context

Demonstrations in support of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs have been held in recent weeks throughout Canada. Tyendinaga Mohawk members have been blocking the railway near Belleville since February 6, to protest the arrest of demonstrators who are opposing the Coastal GasLink pipeline in northern British Columbia. The protesters said they will continue to block the tracks until police officers leave We'tsuwet'en territory in British Columbia.

Advice

Individuals in Canada are advised to keep abreast of the situation, avoid all public demonstrations as a precaution, confirm rail reservations, consider using alternative routes or modes of transportation, and allow additional time to travel.