Via Rail train en route to Ottawa delayed by more than 2 hours due to mechanical trouble

Signage at a Via Rail station in Ottawa is seen in this Canadian Press photo. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

A Via Rail train en route to Ottawa was delayed by a mechanical issue Monday afternoon, but another train arrived to get passengers to their destination.

Travellers on Via Rail train #42 from Toronto to Ottawa were stranded outside Smiths Falls, Ont. for about two hours. According to Via Rail's online schedule, the train should have arrived in Ottawa just before 5 p.m. The train had arrived in Smiths Falls at 4:13 p.m. but Via Rail says it became stuck a short time later.

In a statement to CTV News, Via Rail said train #44, the next scheduled trip, would take the stuck passengers the rest of the way.

"We can confirm that VIA Rail train 42 is currently stopped at Dwyer Hill with mechanical issues," the statement sent at 6:15 p.m. said. "Via Rail train 44 is en route and will be connecting with train 42 to transport passengers to their final destination in Ottawa."

The trip from Smiths Falls to Fallowfield Station in Ottawa is normally around 30 minutes, but passengers on train #42 didn't arrive at that stop until just before 7 p.m.

Train #44 was scheduled to arrive at the Tremblay Road station in Ottawa at 6:43 p.m. but was delayed by about 35 minutes and arrived at around 7:20 p.m.