A woman was found dead on a Via Rail passenger train early Saturday morning.

The company says the Vancouver-to-Toronto train stopped near Parry Sound, Ont., because four passengers were showing flu-like symptoms.

Emergency crews boarded the train and confirmed that a woman who Via Rail described in a news release as elderly had died.

The other three passengers were taken to hospital for treatment, according to the news release.

The train was about six hours late getting to Toronto, according to the release. The train had left Vancouver on Christmas Day night.

Via said a quarantine was placed on the two rooms the passengers were in, which is part of their standard procedures. It's not believed anyone else was in those compartments, which will be sterilized.

Health officials say it's not believed that other passengers or the train's crew were exposed to those taken off the train, which had 200 passengers and 13 crew members on board.

The local coroner was trying to determine the cause of death and the Ontario Provincial Police say the woman's identity was being withheld until all family members were notified.