A Via train travelling from London to Toronto on Labour Day blew through a red stop signal meant to prevent a collision with a GO Transit train.

Though Via says it stopped about one kilometre short of a collision course, the company suspended engineers and filed a report with the Transportation Safety Board later obtained by The Free Press.

Neither Via nor Metrolinx publicly mentioned the near-miss, not even to passengers on the train, but Via president Yves Desjardins-Siciliano did answer questions while stopping at its London station to announce upgrades.

“There was a Via Rail train that ran a red stop signal,” he said Monday. “There was never any imminent danger . . . That being said, like in your car, if you run a red light or a stop sign you always put yourself in grave danger. That is why as soon as we run a stop sign, although it is far from the intersection, we stop the train, we suspend the crew and replace them immediately . . . and restart the operation.”

By the time the Via train came to a stop, a Go Train had cleared the intersection, he said.

None of that was told to passengers on the train, said Sean Karow. a Toronto resident and one of roughly 50 people, mostly families and university students, who boarded in London Labour Day afternoon.

Passengers waited about 75 minutes on the stopped train and were told only that the delay was related to an unspecified service condition. “At no point did anyone explain why,” said Karow.

Passengers received a letter of apology from Desjardins-Siciliano, but no explanation. Via should be more forthright, Karow said.

Asked how close a call it was, GO train operator Metrolinx said Monday it couldn’t yet answer that question.

The close call occurred at 5:13 p.m. Sept. 5 near Aldershot.

As to why the crew failed to stop, an email from Via to a rail expert says the company ruled out one key cause.

“I can confirm impairment of employees by alcohol and/or drugs was ruled out and there is no criminal element involved with this incident,” Jacques Fauteux, Via’s director of governmental and community Relations, wrote to Greg Gormick.