A tourist visiting Canada is questioning the safety of Via Rail after he says his phone was snatched from him by an employee when he was documenting a train delay that left passengers stranded as they ran out of food, water and working toilets.
Chip Malt was in Quebec over the long weekend to celebrate his father含羞草研究社檚 70th birthday in the province含羞草研究社檚 capital, and said he boarded a Via Rail train from Montreal to Quebec City on Saturday.
But the expected three-hour ride ended up being a nearly 14-hour journey after passengers were stranded for 10 hours in the 含羞草研究社渕iddle of nowhere含羞草研究社� following two train breakdowns, said Malt.
He said people were trying to find train exits and were calling Ubers, taxis and car services to get them out but they were so secluded they 含羞草研究社渨ere without options.含羞草研究社�
含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 my first experience on Via Rail, and will probably be my last experience on Via Rail,含羞草研究社� he said Monday in an interview from his home in Austin, Texas.
含羞草研究社淚t was like being in prison.含羞草研究社�
On Sunday Via Rail issued a statement apologizing for the 含羞草研究社渋nconvenience含羞草研究社� to passengers. It confirmed they were stuck for 10 hours on Saturday when a train broke down between Montreal and Quebec City after experiencing two consecutive mechanical issues.
The company said no buses were available in the region to offer alternative transportation. Electricity, air conditioning and washrooms were shut down at times to allow for repairs and coupling with another train, the company said.
含羞草研究社淲e are committed to providing exceptional customer service and ensuring that all passengers are treated with respect and dignity,含羞草研究社� the company said.
Malt said snacks were delivered one hour and three hours into the train delay, but they eventually ran out of food and water.
含羞草研究社淭hey came around with a jug of water and they含羞草研究社檙e like 含羞草研究社業s anyone dehydrated? This is the last of our water.含羞草研究社櫤卟菅芯可鐫
At that point the washroom also broke, he said.
Around the eight-hour mark people were standing to stretch their legs, including Malt, who said he was giving his wife space because she was forced to do a scheduled job interview on the train.
Malt said that含羞草研究社檚 when an employee 含羞草研究社渂arged in含羞草研究社� and 含羞草研究社減ushed a woman into the wall含羞草研究社� as he went by demanding people to take their seats.
含羞草研究社淗e started screaming at this lady and that含羞草研究社檚 when people started to film, including myself, and I was standing right next to him,含羞草研究社� he said. 含羞草研究社淎s soon as he saw that I was filming he leaned over and snatched my phone.含羞草研究社�
Via Rail said it is investigating the exchange, and appropriate measures will be taken following a review.
With water gone, Malt said staff gave people beer and vodka. He said staff also tried to get passengers to participate in yoga breaths to get them to relax, which ended up frustrating the passengers.
At one point some of the passengers, including Malt, considered breaking windows to escape. But he said they were surrounded by a construction zone so even if they did get off the train they would have had to scale fences and cross concrete and tar just to get to a side of a highway, he said.
Malt said staff provided no information about why the train broke down or who was coming to help, and he said they kept repeating the same statement that they had 含羞草研究社渘o further information at this time.含羞草研究社�
In a statement Monday, Via Rail vehemently denied giving people alcohol. It also insisted it provided updates every 30 minutes to passengers 含羞草研究社渆ven if the update was only to let people know there was no change to the situation or that the repairs continued.含羞草研究社�
含羞草研究社淭his is unfortunately often perceived as 含羞草研究社榥o updates,含羞草研究社櫤卟菅芯可鐫 the company said Monday.
Via Rail eventually positioned another passenger train next to theirs on a parallel track. The fire department was called in to help passengers leap from one train to the other, Malt said, and pizza was brought in.
But because the second train had passengers on it, many people had to stand as the train finally reached Quebec City.
Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez promised on Sunday to get to the bottom of the delay, saying he would be meeting with Via Rail leadership this week. He also posted on X that 含羞草研究社減assengers deserve better.含羞草研究社�
Malt said his American family eventually got to celebrate his dad含羞草研究社檚 70th birthday, and that Quebec City lives up to the hype.
But he noted many of the passengers on the train pointed out it was brand new, and he questions their safety based on his experience.
He also said the company is supposed to be trained to deal with delays, but it was the staff who was 含羞草研究社渁ggressive and causing problems.含羞草研究社�
含羞草研究社淲e no longer felt safe on the train anymore,含羞草研究社� he said.
