NH2060 wrote:How badly were rail operations in Ontario and Quebec affected by the storm? Not much information seems to be out there (though there is a photo of passengers walking from a VIA Rail train towards the Dorval station in this article: http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new ... -disasters" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)
I remember taking VIA from Montreal to Ottawa a few days after the storm and during the height of disruption. I was living in Montreal but had no power for several days and the military was coming door-to-door getting people to leave their homes, so I decided to escape to stay with family in Ottawa.
IIRC the line between Coteau and Ottawa was severely affected with branches down across the track as well as the signal system being heavily damaged. I may not be remembering this correctly, but I believe the crew had to manually get down to clear some switches and signals. What was typically a 2 hour trip was much longer because of it.
I wish I'd journaled this, but alas I was a young student!