TORONTO -- Passengers boarded onto trains at Union Station toward Ottawa and Montreal for the first time in weeks Tuesday after a blockade shut down rail service along the corridor.
The blockades went up near Bellville, Ont. on Feb. 7 in solidarity with Indigenous peoples and supporters in northwest B.C. protesting the construction of a pipeline that crosses Wet'suwet'en territory, in addition to a police raid on the territory.
The protests near the tracks blocked trains from travelling between Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa, forcing thousands of commuters to find alternate means of travel.
VIA Rail announced that there would be partial service reopening along the corridor on Tuesday, and things are starting to look normal again as hundreds of passengers made their way to Union Station to board their trains east.
“Most of VIA Rail Canada services will be progressively back in operation, including between Toronto-Montréal and Toronto-Ottawa,” the rail agency said.
“We would like to inform all our customers that this transition will take time and have an impact on the reservation system.”
As of February 28, 940 trains were cancelled because of the blockades, and more than 164, 000 passengers were affected, VIA Rail stated.
