CALGARY, Alberta—Rockslides, mudslides and floods have hindered traffic on Canadian National Railway Co.'s mainline in the West and a 32-car derailment upset operations in the East, it said Monday.
Heavy rainfall and snow melt began causing the bad conditions on the major thoroughfare between Edmonton, Alberta, and Vancouver , British Columbia, on Sunday, and prompted CN Rail to halt traffic, it said.
It said its Robson, Albreda, Lillooet and Yale subdivisions have been hit with by blockages.
"Last night the line was closed from Boston Bar to Vancouver, the Yale subdivision, due to increased heavy rainfall," CN spokeswoman Kelly Svendsen said. "No trains were involved, but we did bring traffic to a stop. We are currently in the process of cleaning the debris off the line and it's scheduled to reopen later this evening."
Rival Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. said its traffic was also affected by mudslides and avalanches in the mountains of British Columbia, but a spokesman said crews were working to quickly clear the tracks.
"Overall our network is operating normally, and we have our rerouting option through the U.S. ... operating," CP's Ed Greenberg said.
Meanwhile, a freight train derailed along CN's Kingston subdivision in Ontario early Monday, disrupting traffic between Toronto and Montreal .
The site is expected to be cleared before midnight, CN Rail said.
However, Via Rail passenger service was forced to put its Montreal - Toronto and Ottawa - Toronto passengers on buses until early Tuesday, Via said in a statement.
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