Sudbury Ontario - VIA Rail customers in Sudbury and northeastern Ontario will be left in the lurch if a work stoppage kicks off at CPKC this week.
 
CPKC owns two sections of track in Ontario where VIA trains run, including a nearly 480 kilometre stretch between Sudbury and White River.
 
The train, which runs three times a week, would be cancelled without alternative transportation until the labour dispute ends, if there is one, said VIA spokeswoman Jamie Orchard.
 
"Impacted customers on this route will be contacted directly if the work stoppage is confirmed. They will also be able to autonomously modify their reservation or opt for a full refund at no cost," she said in an email.
 
The Crown corporation is also working with CPKC to maintain access to a one-kilometre section in Smiths Falls that its cars traverse on multiple daily trips between Toronto and Ottawa, Orchard said.
 
In all, more than 32,000 rail commuters across the country will have to find new routes to the office if the work stoppage takes place.
 
Transit authorities say select commuter lines that run on CPKC tracks in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver will be suspended should dispatchers walk off the job at 00:01 EDT on Thursday alongside 3,200 other workers.
 
The commuter lines affected by the potential work stoppage are TransLink's West Coast Express in the Vancouver area, Metrolinx's Milton line and the Lakeshore line's Hamilton GO station in the Greater Toronto Area, and EXO's Candiac, Saint-Jerome, and Vaudreuil/Hudson lines in the Montreal area.
 
Author unknown.