It seems the trains are moving – albeit slowly.
A train parked behind the Westwood Plaza in Cobourg’s west end finally has gone on Wednesday, February 26, 2020 much to the delight of area resident Sue Dingsdale-Glover.
Since February 10 the train had been parked behind the Westwood Plaza with its engine running 24-hours a day.
The length of the freight train stretched west passed Bob Carr in Hamilton Township.
Dingsdale-Glover said it took several minutes for the train to clear the Burnham Street crossing.
Just a bit further to the east at the Cobourg VIA station, all remains quiet.
A voice recording reminds bellows through the speakers to no one at the station that all trains are cancelled to further notice.
The platform by the tracks is empty of passengers. Still no time line of when VIA will be back in Cobourg.
Just after 5 p.m. on Tuesday, another unusual occurrence happened when a CN freight train was travelling eastbound on CP Rail.
Something else unique – the rust forming on the railway tracks since the stoppage on February 6. It’s something likely never seen on the main railway tracks of CN Rail.
Today, was a sign of things to come was that trains are moving.
Latest release from VIA Rail
MONTREAL, February 26, 2020 – VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) announces that regular service between Winnipeg and The Pas will resume 1. starting Sunday, March 1.
VIA Rail is reaching out directly to passengers with reservations to update them on the latest developments. All other passengers are encouraged to visit our website for more information.
We continue to work with the infrastructure owner, CN Rail, on making sure that normal service can resume on all other routes and that passengers can be welcomed back on board our trains as quickly as possible.
Please find below a summary of routes in service, including as of Sunday:
Overview of service resumptions*
Route Service
Toronto- London-Windsor In full service
Toronto-Sarnia In full service
Toronto-Niagara Falls In full service
Québec City-Montréal-Ottawa In Full service
The Ocean (Montréal-Halifax) Full service to resume starting
Friday, February 28
Winnipeg-The Pas Full service to resume starting Sunday, March 1
*This information is subject to change without notice.
Since all other VIA Rail services remain cancelled until further notice, with the exception of Sudbury-White River (CP Rail) and Churchill-The Pas (Hudson Bay Railway), VIA Rail has cancelled all affected departures as per the table below.
As of February 26,
s have been affected.
Please note that the cancellation window of the different services is based on the minimum expected time it would take to resume the service once the line reopens.
Accordingly, we are protecting reservations as long as possible to prevent passengers from changing their travels plans unnecessarily.
Overview of service cancellations*
Route Service Cancelled until (inclusively) :
Toronto-Ottawa Cancelled Sunday, March 1
Toronto-Montréal Cancelled Sunday, March 1
Senneterre-Jonquière Cancelled Sunday, March 1
Prince Rupert- Prince George-Jasper Cancelled Wednesday, March 4
The Canadian Cancelled Sunday, March 1
*This information is subject to change without notice.
All passengers are encouraged to visit our website for more information. Details on the refunding procedure are available on our website: https://www.viarail.ca/en/travel-advisory-information.
We remain hopeful for an end to the situation as soon as possible and encourage all parties involved to continue their efforts towards a peaceful resolution.
We thank our passengers for their continued patience and understanding.
Karl-Philip Marchand Giguere
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
