Commuters scramble to find alternatives

Thousands across country affected by railway lockout

- KEVIN JIANG

Thousands of commuters across Ontario were sent scrambling for travel alternatives after an unprecedented national railway stoppage shuttered rail lines across the nation.

Early Thursday, Canadian National Railway Co and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. locked out 9,300 workers after they failed to agree on a new contract before the midnight deadline- the first time Canada's two largest railways have undergone a simultaneous shutdown.