Aboriginal demonstrators blocked a CN freight and Via Rail passenger line with a school bus Friday, over a long-simmering land dispute in eastern Ontario.

At one point, billows of black smoke could be seen rising from the blockade and emergency fire crews were called to the scene.

The protest, which is being held by members of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, began at about midnight.

"The track was one of the targets on a list because the quarry issues have not been resolved;'' protest leader Shawn Brant told The Canadian Press.

The plan was to "close the tracks for 48 hours,'' he said, despite being served with a court order to vacate the area.

Chief of the Tyendinaga Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte maintains both sides are negotiating and advocating for a peaceful resolution of the claim.

"The process may take a long time but that is the only process that we have to work with -- negotiating a resolution," Don Maracle told CTV Newsnet.

"There are a number of parties that have to be consulted and a number of studies that have to be done and it will take time."

"I implore everyone to have patience and to give the negotiating table a chance to work," Maracle said.

No trains moving

According to CN Rail, the entire corridor between Montreal and Toronto is being affected by the blockage.

"The blockade was established about midnight last night, and this is a significant concern to CN because it is affecting our operations and also of Via Rail," spokesperson Mark Hallman told CTV Newsnet.

"We are working very closely with authorities on the scene and it is our hope that authorities will be able to address this issue as soon as possible to resume normal freight operations," he said.

By early morning Friday, 14 CN trains and four Via trains had been affected.

Via Rail passenger trains operating between Toronto and Ottawa, while Toronto and Montreal will be replaced by chartered buses until further notice. Local service between Montreal and Ottawa is not affected.

Via Rail is not accepting new bookings for travel on affected routes. Any applicable service charges for cancellations or changes as a result of this protest will be waived, Via Rail said.

No decisions have been made yet on passenger train operations over the weekend.

The dispute centres on a developer's plan to build condominiums near Desoronto, Ont., on land claimed by the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte. The condominiums are planned for an area known as the Culbertson Land Tract.

The tract is on a parcel of land granted to the Six Nations in 1793 and the Mohawks claim they never surrendered any part of it.

Initially, the aboriginal protesters set up day-long barricades at a gravel quarry outside Desoronto, about 30 kilometres west of Kingston, in November and again in January.

The federal government has appointed a land-claims negotiator to resolve the dispute. But protesters say the negotiations are taking too much time.

"This is one of the targets on the list for disruption for the fact the quarry license still hasn't been revoked," Brant said.

"We shut (the rail lines) them down as part of the ongoing rotational economic disruption campaign we promised."

With files from The Canadian Press