It wasn’t the usual stop for a train in Hope, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
On Wednesday night, CN and VIA Rail announced they would be able to move some people by train out of the town, which is completely cut off by a series of landslides.
The train made its stop right at the Sixth Avenue crossing, allowing people to board a passenger train back to Vancouver. More than 1,000 people had been stranded there for several days, and the train was able to evacuate about 200 of them.
This was all coordinated with the help of Emergency Management BC, who reached out to CN to use their rails for this service. CN reached out to VIA Rail in order to have a train to evacuate the stranded people in Hope.
“On behalf of everyone at VIA Rail and CN, we offer a heartfelt thank you to the employees who planned this operation and supported the evacuees who have gone through a very difficult time over the past few days,” CN said in a statement. “We are truly proud to have been able to offer our assistance during this emergency.”
READ MORE: Evacuees in Abbotsford tell harrowing tales of escape from flood waters
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