Rail Service Between Cochrane And Moosonee Resumes This Week

Rail service between Cochrane and Moosonee resumed this week after repairs to the Moose River bridge were completed.

Ontario Northland was forced to temporarily shut down the line and suspend operation of the Polar Bear Express after someone set a fire to a section of the crossing on the weekend, damaging wooden railway ties and some of the tracks.

A 56-year-old Moosonee man has been arrested and charged with seven counts of arson causing damage in connection with the incident.

Approximately 400 passengers who had made reservations were forced to either get a refund on their tickets and travel by air or wait in Cochrane or Moosonee until the line was repaired.

Beverly Martin, chief communications officer with Ontario Northland, said a number passengers took advantage of the railway's offer to pay for meals and accommodations while they waited for repairs to the line to be completed.

The Polar Bear Express, which normally departs from Cochrane at 9 a. m., left 40 minutes later than usual yesterday in order to give work crews ample time to complete the repairs.

Martin said there was still some final repairs being done yesterday morning but were expected to be completed by the time the train reached the Moose River crossing, which is about three-and-a-half hours into the journey.

"They replaced all the railway ties and they were just installing the final pieces of the actual rail," Martin explained.

Extra coaches were added to the Thursday morning train to accommodate an expected increase in the number of passengers, many who had been waiting around since Monday for the service to resume.

While a major snowstorm that hit much of the province on Wednesday made highway travel treacherous, Martin said it didn't arrive early enough in the day to greatly hinder crews working to repair the Moose River crossing.


Source: saultstar.com