Via Rail cancelled a series of train services Friday between Montreal and Toronto during a second day of protests by members of Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory at the Wyman Road level rail crossing just east of Shannonville.

A political action along the east-west railway corridor was staged by local Mohawks to protest RCMP raids in the early dawn of Thursday at camps set up by Wet’suewet’en First Nations to block a Coastal GasLink pipeline in northern British Columbia.

Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte members declined comment on their standoff with federal railway officials since Thursday afternoon.

They did note that a statement might be forthcoming from the group later on Friday although one was not received by late Friday afternoon.

A single Ontario Provincial Police cruiser was parked on Wyman Road staffed by two officers on scene.

Around 11a.m., a large Canadian National (CN) freight train was stopped several kilometres to the west of the Wyman Road crossing where protesters parked a large Freightliner dump truck affixed with a snow plow blade.

Under a red Mohawk flag tied to the end of the southern crossing gate was a hand-painted sign declaring “RCMP get out.” The site of the protest also included a metal drum with a burning fire flanked by a stack of wooden shipping pallets for fuel.

On the north side of the railway tracks, a hand-painted side warned oncoming motorists the area is “Indian land.” The protest area where Wyman Road intersects both CN railway lines lies south of Highway 2, east of Shannonville Motorsport Park.

First Nations agreed Thursday to allow two Via trains through their protest site but members were upset when up to nine trains were pushed through the time window.

Friday, Via Rail issued an advisory noting: “Due to the protesters currently blocking tracks near Belleville, Ontario, train service between Montreal and Toronto and between Ottawa and Toronto is affected in both directions on Friday, February 7, 2020. None of the trains on these two routes will operate until the issue is resolved. We are asking passengers to check our online tools for departures and arrivals updates.”

The advisory stated “services continue to operate between Ottawa and Montreal, between Montreal and Quebec City, and west of Toronto in southerwestern Ontario.”

Via said it cancelled trains 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 47, 50, 51 between Ottawa and Toronto, as well as 52, 53, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 644 and 651.

“While our trains are prepared to leave on schedule should we achieve line clearance, departures from Ottawa/Montreal to Toronto and Toronto to Ottawa/Montreal are currently delayed or may not operate due to these circumstances beyond our control. As the situation progresses, more trains might be cancelled,” stated Via Rail public relations spokesperson Karl-Philip Marchand Giguere Friday afternoon in an e-mail to The Intelligencer.

“As the situation evolves, we keep our passengers informed by e-mail and invite them to consult our website at viarail.ca for the updated schedule. For more information, passengers can contact our VIA Customer Center at 1-888-VIA-RAIL (1-888 842-7245), TTY 800-268-9503 (deaf or hard of hearing). We are aware that this situation, which is unfortunately beyond our control, has an impact on our customers and we apologize for the inconvenience this situation is causing. All affected customers will receive a full refund on trains that were cancelled today,” he stated.