Evidence of meeting #131 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 44th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was passengers.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Churence Rogers Liberal Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL
Okay.
I'll ask this question: In your opinion, was the appropriate compensation for this delay provided to these passengers? This gentleman testified about having a free trip somewhere on Via Rail and some other compensation, but it seemed to be pretty meagre. Do you think that was adequate compensation, or should there be a major improvement in that?
Deputy Minister, Department of Transport
I'm not aware of what Via did provide in terms of compensation, but as I said earlier, they are providing passengers with clarity about what they should expect in terms of refunds and other compensation, such as credits, for events like this, but that determination is the responsibility of Via Rail.
Liberal
Churence Rogers Liberal Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL
Actually, they did provide a travel credit that would expire within one year, and a couple of other things.
Train 622 was part of a new fleet of Siemens Venture trainsets, which are currently being phased in throughout the Windsor-Quebec corridor. Are you aware of the ongoing discussion between Via Rail and Siemens to determine the cause of the mechanical breakdowns? How are satisfied are you with the Siemens response to these mechanical issues?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Department of Transport
This is part of the investigation that is ongoing. Actually, since the original question was asked, we have found out that the report on that is due to us sometime in the first half of November, which is sooner than I had said earlier. Those discussions are ongoing, and we expect the report in the coming weeks.
As I said previously, we will take that report, and it will be useful to us, but we'll also be doing our own assessment of that report and what transpired.
Liberal
Churence Rogers Liberal Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL
Are you aware of any other significant mechanical breakdowns with these new trains?
Liberal
Churence Rogers Liberal Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL
Okay.
When I think about train 622 and the 10-hour delay that was experienced by the passengers on that train, was it due to a lack of protocol that was in place at the time, or was it due to a failure in following existing procedures or protocol?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Department of Transport
Stephen may help me on this, but there was a confluence of events. Part of it was mechanical in the sense that there was a hose that got worn. They couldn't repair it on site, which causes.... You have to get somebody to come in and fix it, and then I believe there happened to be an issue with the train that came to the rescue as well.
I mentioned that they didn't have the proper equipment to do the repairs—they fixed that—and then there was some lack of training of personnel—
Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Department of Transport
—on the train as well. So far, that's what has been identified.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Schiefke
Sir, you are 30 seconds over. You are asking this committee for a great deal, sir.
Liberal
Churence Rogers Liberal Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL
I want to ask a question about people with disabilities on the train.
Liberal
Conservative
Conservative
Liberal
Liberal
Churence Rogers Liberal Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL
I'm wondering what the experience was for people on that train who might have been in wheelchairs or for people with disabilities. Was there any report on that in particular?
Director General, Rail Safety and Security, Department of Transport
I don't have details specifically on how persons with disabilities may have been handled or treated on this train.
Generally speaking, passenger railways, as part of their passenger handling safety plans, need to have procedures and training in place to assist persons with disabilities, including during emergency and crisis situations where they may need assistance to evacuate or move to another location. Those procedures are a requirement the railways must have.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Schiefke
Thank you very much, Mr. Scott.
Thank you, Mr. Rogers. That was a great question.
The next speaker is Mr. Barsalou‑Duval.
You have two and a half minutes.
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The accounts given by passengers who testified before the committee and in articles in the media talked about there not being enough food on board. The passengers were essentially served pretzels and mini chocolate bars.
Having travelled on a Via Rail train in the past, I can tell you these are not big bags of pretzels. There are not a tonne of pretzels in them. There may be one pretzel, or two or three. I don't know.
Bloc
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
In any event, there is not much to satisfy a big appetite.
In the letter sent to Via Rail by the former minister of transport, Mr. Rodriguez, to ask for changes to be made, I didn't see anything relating to the treatment of passengers or the supply of food.
At your end, at Transport Canada, do you look into things like that? Are you going to make sure there are sufficient provisions for passengers in the event of a mechanical failure or major delay?
