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The blockade interrupted service for at least 3,500 Via Rail passengers who were supposed to board 22 different trains, Via Rail spokesman Malcolm Andrews said Friday.
Buses were chartered to move passengers already holding tickets for destinations including
Andrews said Via stopped selling tickets to new passengers until the situation is resolved.
“It would just mean we’d have to charter more buses,” he said. “They might as well go and buy a bus ticket themselves.”
The protesters from the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation have been occupying a nearby quarry for the last month over a planned condo development. They moved their protest to the rail line Friday morning.
The Mohawks of the
The protest is taking place without the sanction or blessing of the chief of the First Nation.
Chief R. Donald Maracle said in a televised interview Friday afternoon that he warned the protesters that blocking the rail lines would not help the band’s land dispute negotiations.
Maracle went on Friday to urge the protesters to end their blockade.
“I hope (the protesters) will ... allow the railway lines to be opened up and the trains pass,” Maracle said.
“The issue isn’t about us for or against our members, or against non-native people, or against the government or vice versa. We want to work toward the restoration of our land, to accommodate the needs of our current and future generations. We want to do it in a peaceful and respectful manner. We know it will take patience and co-operation (by) a number of parties.”
Mark Hallman, spokesman for CN Rail, said Friday afternoon that CN had obtained an injunction from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice requiring dismantling of the blockade.
“It was served by the sheriff on the protesters, and CN hopes it will be able to resume normal freight operations soon,” Hallman told CanWest News Service.
The blockade leader, identified as Shawn Brant, said the blockade will remain in place for 48 hours.
As of Friday afternoon, several emergency vehicles, with lights flashing, lined the road leading to the blockade. Smoke could be seen rising from the site as well, and at least one protester was spotted waving what seemed to be a flag from atop a bus sitting on the rail tracks.
Meanwhile, Hallman said about 15 CN Rail freight trains were left stranded after the blockade was moved into place around
“This is a significant disruption to our main line between