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 Ploquin 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 underscoresthe 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, often referredto as the air passenger bill of rights. The regulations require airlines to meet certain standards of treatmentand compensation, including timely updates on flight statuses andup to $1,000 for delays of nine hours or more within the airline's control.

On its website, Via Railsays it offers a travel credit representing 50 per cent of the economy fare pricein the case of a delaybetween one to four hours, and 100 per cent for a delayover 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 receivedis far too little for the inconvenience the delay caused them including from missed cruise ships and birthday parties. But they sayrestricted access to basic necessities and inadequate communication from staffonly compounded their frustration and disappointment.

These complaints have been voicedtimeand time and time again.

WATCH| Passengers stranded for 10 hours:

Via Rail passengers demand accountability after 10 hours stuck on train | Canada Tonight

19 days ago

Duration 2:23

Some Via Rail passengers are demanding answers and accountability after they were stranded on a train from Montreal to Quebec City Saturday for 10 hours with a lack of food, water and access to toilets.

"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 occasionallyhas issues; the question is how rapidly and effectivelycan a company respondto 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 controland, with some exceptions, the chance to disembark at the three-hour mark.

NDP MP and transportation criticTaylor Bachrachsays 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.

Bachrachsays 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 andmove 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, includingCN, which is a private corporation.

According to Via Rail, freight trains are the single biggest factor in delays.Its annual report in 2023 showsonly 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.

Bachrachtabled a private members' bill last year called theRail Passenger Priority Actthat 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 railpassengers," he said.

Ploquinalso 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.

CBCNews reached out to Via Rail asking ifPloquin still supported this idea, but did not hear back despite multiple attempts.

Europe as the 'gold standard'

Air Passenger Rightsadvocacy group presidentGbor Lukcssays Canada should look beyond North Americaand learn from international passenger rights laws.

"What Canada would need both in air travel and in railwayis to adopt the European Union's gold standard," he said, describing current rail rights as "the Wild West" for Canadians.

UnderEurope'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 foraccommodation 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.

Lukcssays 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 besmoke and mirrors," he said.

Minister asks Via Rail to improve

CBCNews asked Federal Transport Minister PabloRodriguez'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 saidRodriguez 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 Railwas 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 toPloquinand Via Rail board chairFranoise Bertrand dated Sept. 4, Rodriguez said the Crown corporation has 30 days to"enhance [its] emergency action plan posture" with "clear standard operating proceduresand practical exercises for various scenarios for front-line employees."