Canada has a bill of rights for air passengers. What about train riders?

A 10-hour delay on a Via Rail train in Quebec over the long weekend is raising questions about rail passengers’ rights in Canada — or the lack thereof.

Passengers on a train from Montreal to Quebec City were left stranded as they ran out of food, water and working toilets when their train broke down after experiencing two consecutive mechanical issues. Electricity and air conditioning were also shut down at times for repairs.

In an interview, Via Rail CEO Mario Péloquin apologized for “all the inconvenience that was caused” and said the company will provide a full refund to those affected.

But travellers say staff didn’t handle the situation properly and that compensation for the 14-hour ordeal falls short of what they feel they are entitled to.

The situation is raising concerns about the rights of Canadian rail passengers during major delays. For some, it underscores the need to establish regulatory protections for these travellers, similar to those for air passengers.

No passenger rights laws for rail travellers

Unlike air travellers, there are no passenger rights protecting rail travellers in Canada — meaning Via Rail customers whose trips are disrupted are entitled only to whatever compensation or assistance the company chooses to provide.

Meanwhile, since 2019, flyers have been protected under a set of rules, ofter referred to as the air passenger bill of rights. The regulations require airlines to meet certain standards of treatment and compensation, including timely updates on flight statuses and up to $1,000 for delays of nine hours or more within the airline’s control. 

On its website, Via Rail says it offers a travel credit representing 50 per cent of the economy fare price in the case of a delay between one to four hours, and 100 per cent for a delay over four hours for rides along the Quebec-City-Windsor Corridor. There is a complex list of measures for exceptional circumstances.  

In the case of train 622 this past weekend, where stranded passengers were transferred to a different locomotive after 10 hours, the Crown corporation offered a cash refund equivalent to the price of passengers’ one-way ticket. A travel credit for a future trip was also provided.

Passengers told CBC News the compensation they received is far too little for the inconvenience the delay caused them — including from missed cruise ships and birthday parties. But they say restricted access to basic necessities and inadequate communication from staff only compounded their frustration and disappointment.

These complaints have been voiced time and time — and time — again.

“People are getting really frustrated, and honestly, quite rightly so,” said Terry Johnson, president of Transport Action Canada, a transportation advocacy group. 

He says anything mechanical occasionally has issues; the question is how rapidly and effectively can a company respond to them.

‘We need passenger priority’ 

For tarmac delays, which most resemble the delays faced by Via Rail riders, Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) stipulate that airlines must provide passengers with free food and drinks in reasonable amounts, access to functioning washrooms, proper ventilation and temperature control and, with some exceptions, the chance to disembark at the three-hour mark.

NDP MP and transportation critic Taylor Bachrach says legislating similar rights for rail passengers should be a no-brainer.

“Canada deserves an effective passenger rail network and to get there, we need to ensure that rail passengers are treated with the same level of respect as air passengers,” he said in an interview. 

Bachrach says that won’t happen until passenger trains are given priority on the tracks. 

In Canada, passenger trains, which share tracks with freight trains, must defer to them and move aside to let them pass. The Crown corporation only owns three per cent of the rail lines it uses, meaning it’s at the mercy of others, including CN, which is a private corporation. 

According to Via Rail, freight trains are the single biggest factor in delays. Its annual report in 2023 shows only 59 per cent of its trains arrived on time — a two per cent improvement from the previous year. But that is still significantly less reliable compared to the previous decade, when on-time performance was around 70 per cent.

Bachrach tabled a private members’ bill last year called the Rail Passenger Priority Act that sought to give passenger trains priority on shared tracks in Canada — legislation that has existed for decades for U.S. tracks, but that is not always followed.

“We need better infrastructure for passenger trains, we need passenger priority … and we need some legislation and regulations that protect the rights of rail passengers,” he said.

Péloquin also called on Ottawa last year to give passenger trains the formal right of way on tracks. He added that ideally, the measure would go hand-in-hand with a passenger bill of rights comparable to the one now in place for air travellers to ensure customers receive compensation for long delays. 

CBC News reached out to Via Rail asking if Péloquin still supported this idea, but did not hear back despite multiple attempts.  

Europe as the ‘gold standard’ 

Air Passenger Rights advocacy group president Gábor Lukács says Canada should look beyond North America and learn from international passenger rights laws. 

“What Canada would need both in air travel and in railway is to adopt the European Union’s gold standard,” he said, describing current rail rights as “the Wild West” for Canadians. 

Under Europe’s rail passenger rights regulations, train passengers have several rights, including the right to reimbursements or alternative travel arrangements if there is a delay of over 60 minutes. Passengers also have more rights if they miss a connection, as well as provisions for accommodation and food when a journey cannot continue on the same day. 

A rule introduced in 2023 also grants the right to self-reroute. If more than 100 minutes pass without a solution to a delay or cancellation, passengers can arrange alternative travel on their own, and the carrier is required to cover the reasonable cost. 

Lukács says a rail passenger bill of rights can only happen if there’s political will. But he says he’s hoping for a better result for rail travellers than what was established for air travellers. 

“I certainly wouldn’t want the same people who wrote an inferior [air] passenger protection regime in Canada write an inferior railway passenger protection regime, because that would just be smoke and mirrors,” he said. 

Minister asks Via Rail to improve

CBC News asked Federal Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez’s office why rail passengers don’t have these protections in Canada and if a bill is being considered to improve performance on delayed passenger trains. 

The ministry did not respond to those questions.

In a statement on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the minister said Rodriguez met with Via Rail executives and asked the company to provide an independent report on what happened with the 10-hour delay in Quebec.

To ensure it doesn’t happen again, Via Rail was also asked to improve training for their employees and review their breakdown procedures. This includes keeping passengers better informed and making sure they have access to basic services and other options to reach their destination quickly if there’s a long delay.

In a letter sent to Péloquin and Via Rail board chair Françoise Bertrand dated Sept. 4, Rodriguez said the Crown corporation has 30 days to “enhance [its] emergency action plan posture” with “clear standard operating procedures and practical exercises for various scenarios for front-line employees.”