Train cancellation strands members of Mathias Colomb Cree Nation in The Pas

Helen Bighetty lined up at the train station in The Pas on Monday morning, arriving at 8 a.m. hoping to get one of the 40 tickets available to bring her back to Pukatawagan, located 210 km north of The Pas and 819 km northwest of Winnipeg.

It's not unusual to have a big line of people waiting to purchase tickets in the hours before the station opens. Tickets are on a first-come, first-served basis.

But when the train station opened at 9 a.m., Bighetty says only a few people ahead of her were able to purchase tickets before the attendant announced the train would not be running.

"One of the crew members came in and said 'Stop selling tickets.' And then it was a standstill from there. We didn't know what was going on," Bighetty said. 

People who had hoped to board the train are still stranded. There is a possibility they can make it home for Thursday, but only if the train is able to run.

No engineers available

Eventually, the group was told there were no engineers available to run the train — something Bighetty and other members of Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, the First Nation at Pukatawagan, say has happened before.

The train is operated by Keewatin Railway Company (KRC), but its staffing comes from Hudson Bay Railway, owned by the Arctic Gateway Group. CEO Michael Woelcke says it's going through a shortage of conductors, and confirmed the train didn't have the staff to run on Monday.

"The conductor assigned became sick, and we had a [spare] conductor … we contacted them and then they became sick," Woelcke said. 

He said on Tuesday morning he tried both conductors again and they were still sick. Woelcke said he's looking for conductors who can operate the train for Thursday, which is the next scheduled departure from The Pas.

"We plan to operate it, assuming we can get someone to do it," he said.

The only other way back to the First Nation is via airplane. Bighetty says the plane only seats seven people and tickets need to be reserved a week in advance, so there were no seats available to take anyone home on Monday.

Mathias Colomb Cree Nation leadership has been working with Missinippi Airways and Keewatin Railway Company to get its members back home and help with expenses related to travel.

"I have a flight booked home for Thursday morning, but I can't speak for the other ones that are here," Bighetty said. Other people who couldn't get a plane ticket are waiting until Thursday morning to see whether the train will run as scheduled, she said.

Mathias Colomb Cree Nation member Hanson Dumas Sr. said issues with train cancellations have continued for many years. People have come to expect schedule interruptions with the train, which he says greatly affects the community because many people use the train to bring groceries, fuel and building materials back to the First Nation.

"Prices are too high in Pukatawagan, and that's the main reason why right now it's crucial for that train to be running on a regular basis," Dumas Sr. said.

Maintenance an issue

Bighetty says there were times food, including frozen products and meat, remained on the train for days after a cancellation, causing it to spoil before it could be brought to Pukatawagan.

KRC doesn't seem to be taking care of its rolling stock, Bighetty says, even though it's one of the only modes of transportation for her isolated community.

"The bathrooms don't even have a proper lock. You have to put Kleenex in a little hole so nobody can't look in. If you move it the wrong way, your finger can be cut off," Bighetty said.

"I'm sure if Winnipeg or wherever else in Canada, if they ran into that problem they would be running around and looking for a solution … With us, it's like we're swept under the rug."

KRC CEO Anthony Mayham said in the last year, along with a shortage of conductors, it's been dealing with aging equipment freezing on the train. 

"We've been working for the past year on getting refurbished passenger cars and locomotives, slated for delivery in spring and fall next year," he said.

In the past, Mayham says, the railway company has offered financial compensation for people affected by train cancellations, and is currently negotiating with Mathias Colomb Cree Nation leadership for people affected by Monday's cancellation.

Woelcke says Hudson Bay Railway is currently training more conductors who will begin working in January in a bid to prevent future cancellations.