Via Rail misses stop, send passengers by cab to final destination

A Via Rail passenger heading to Chatham ultimately got to her final destination by cab, after her train did not let her off at her stop and proceeded to take her to Windsor instead.

Susan Peet and four other passengers stood up to fetch their bags when they heard Chatham would be the next stop on train number 75, heading to Windsor from Toronto Sunday night.

"We could tell that the train had stopped, but nobody was coming so I opened the door between the two cars ... I could see that the station was there," said Peet. "Then the train started moving."

Peet said she ran between three cars before she could find a Via employee to tell them they had missed her stop.

"I shouted 'This is my stop. I have to get off!' and we were told the train could not stop now. It had started and had to go to Windsor," she said.

I did not have the sense that the person was terribly sympathetic to the fact five us were now going past our destination and needing to go back on what was a very foggy night- Susan Peet

The Crown corporation said to CBC News in an emailed statement that the incident happened due to a "miscommunication" and thetrain crew made an effort to stop the trainbut it had already left the station and was past the platform, so it was not safe for anyone to get off.

"In accordance with our policy, the passengers travelled to the next scheduled destination, which in this case was Windsor," wrote MyleneBelanger, media relations person for Via Rail.

Peet said once they arrived in Windsor, cabs were arranged to take the passengers back to Chatham, but she was afraid and didn't think it was a safe way to travel because of the heavy fog.

"I was really happy I was with a professional driver," she said. "As I said to him, 'I would never be on this road if it was me or my husband [driving].'"

Via offered Peet and the other passengers a refund and a travel credit toward their next trip.

"They did make compensation. I felt it was adequate, I felt like ... they were doing the minimum," said Peet. "I think it could have been handled better. I did not have the sense that the person was terribly sympathetic to the fact five us were now going past our destination and needing to go back on what was a very foggy night."

Peet said she'll continue to use the train because it's the best option next to flying.

"We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience caused by this situation," said Belanger."Our procedures were reviewed in order to prevent this situation from happening in the future."