Since moving to Canada 22 years ago, Gary Pieters has dreamed of seeing the Canadian landscape from the inside of a VIA Rail train car.
This summer, the Guyana native booked a four-day train voyage from Toronto to Vancouver, scheduled to depart today. His bedroom window in Toronto overlooks Union Station and Mr. Pieters has been watching trains chug by for a week now, "just imagining myself in one of them."
But yesterday morning, with his bags already packed, Mr. Pieters learned his trip had been cancelled.
"Disappointment is the word that sums up what I feel," he said.On Tuesday night, the union representing VIA Rail's 340 engineers announced a strike deadline for tomorrow at noon ET. VIA Rail subsequently decided to cancel or shorten 29 of its longer routes this week, including Mr. Pieters' trip.
"This strike has pretty much thrown my trip plans off the rails and into the toilet," he said.
Ashley Doyle, a spokeswoman for VIA Rail, said the company doesn't "want passengers stranded anywhere," adding that affected passengers will get refunds or alternative transportation arranged by VIA Rail. She can't say how many passengers will be affected by the train cancellations but VIA Rail carries an average of about 11,000 passengers a day, according to spokesman Malcolm Andrews.
Locomotive engineers, who operate the trains, have been working without a contract since Dec. 31, 2006. Negotiations for a new deal have dragged on since.
The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union is seeking improved wages, benefits and scheduling that allows engineers to have two consecutive days off. VIA Rail is also trying to implement shorter training schedules, whereas the TCRC wants one week of training for rookie drivers or engineers assigned new routes.
"We had to draw a line in the sand at some point," said TCRC president Dan Shewchuk on Tuesday night. "If we can't come to an agreement by [Friday] there will be some inconvenience, unfortunately."
But Mr. Pieters says he's already inconvenienced and won't rebook his trip, even if the strike is averted.
As a Toronto resident, where a municipal strike is under way, Mr. Pieters says he's sick of suffering the consequences of other peoples' battles.
With a report from Josh Wingrove