Quarantined train to be rolling soon, official says

9 May 2008

Ontario-A Canadian train quarantined after a passenger died Thursday will soon be on its way again, Ontario's top medical officer told reporters.

Dr. David Williams said the woman who died did not have an infectious disease, nor did another woman who was airlifted to Timmins and District Hospital in Timmins, Ontario.

Five other passengers who complained of feeling sick have been isolated aboard the train, where they are being assessed, Williams said. The death and the illnesses were unrelated, he said.

When the assessments are complete, he said, the train will resume its journey.

The train, carrying 264 passengers and 30 crew, was en route from Vancouver to Toronto when it was halted and quarantined in northern Ontario after the passenger died, a spokeswoman for VIA Rail said.

VIA Rail Train Number 2 was stopped "for medical reasons" in Foleyet, Ontario, said rail spokeswoman Ashley Doyle.

The Associated Press reported that Deborah DesRochers, chairwoman of Foleyet, said the scene was chaotic. "The whole place is being overrun with ambulances and police cars, and we've got helicopters," she said. "They've got the train quarantined. They're trying to isolate what it is."

A spokesman for Canadian National Railway, which owns the tracks, said the company arranged for the train to be halted after receiving a request from VIA Rail Thursday morning.

VIA Rail issued a telephone number for anyone seeking information about the passengers: 877-747-0707.