Quebec City Via Rail passengers out thousands of dollars after missed cruise ship departures due to delay

Missed birthday parties, appointments and departing ships are just a few of the stories passengers will be telling for years if they were aboard the Via Rail train headed for Quebec City on Saturday.

Some of them are out of thousands of dollars as a result.

Las Vegas resident Rhonee Rojas and his husband were onboard the three-hour turned 10-hour train ride and were set to leave on a Holland America cruise ship the same day.

They were heading for a seven-day cruise leaving Quebec City on its way to Boston when repeated mechanical issues caused the train to stop.

"So I looked over to my husband and I said, 'I'm a little bit worried,'" said Rhonee Rojas.

The two consecutive mechanical issues caused passengers to be stuck on the train, growing more and more uncomfortable. One passenger said it felt "like being in a prison."

"The tension started to rise. Definitely," said Rojas, who added that people were getting claustrophobic, and he and his husband begged to get off.

There were around 20 other passengers on the train heading for the same ship.

"They took a list down of all the passengers, and I thought, 'Okay, great! Maybe they were going to grab a bus, bus to the port and we'll be okay,'" said Rojas. "That never sufficed, obviously, because I'm here."

The company said no buses were available to offer alternative transport so they missed the boat.

Canadian Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez met with Via leadership on Tuesday.

"Today, Minister Rodriguez spoke with VIA Rail executives to tell them the way passengers were treated on Saturday was unacceptable," said spokesperson Laurent de Casanove. "The well-being of passengers needs to be at the heart of VIA Rail’s decisions. To make sure this doesn’t happen again, VIA Rail has been asked to provide an independent report on what happened, improve training for their employees, and review their breakdown procedures. This includes keeping passengers better informed and making sure they have access to basic services and other options to reach their destination quickly if there’s a long delay. Canadians deserve to have reliable passenger rail that meets their needs."

Rojas said that they made the most of the unfortunate situation by spending some time in Quebec City, but they lost roughly $5,000.

Holland America considers them a no-show, and they said no refund is coming.

They also had to change their return flight home.

"I wasn't going to dare get back on the train and head back to Montreal," said Rojas. "There was no way. There was no possible way. I'm definitely scarred for life from this experience."

Via Rail has apologized for the inconvenience and said customers will get a refund.

Rojas, however, wants more for spending too much time on the tracks and none on the sea.