Via Rail Canada has laid off hundreds of employees because of a strike that has paralyzed passenger train service across the country.

The unionized employees received notice on Friday after locomotive engineers walked off the job, company spokesman Malcolm Andrews confirmed on Saturday.

"We have no choice of course," Andrews said. "The layoffs are a necessary part of an unfortunate process like this one simply because it's a process over which we don't have entire control and there are pretty significant costs involved in paying salaries of all those people."

Andrews said up to 2,400 employees were to be laid off temporarily. Those workers normally do jobs related to either getting the trains ready or helping passengers.

"We're talking about on-train service employees who work in meal service, who work in sleeping cars and dining cars. We're talking about people who work in stations, in baggage rooms, people who work in maintenance centres," he said.

Via officials had previously announced they would consider layoffs if the strike lasted longer than five days.

Andrews said company and union negotiators continued meeting with a mediator for a second day on Saturday, and that Via was "very optimistic" the shutdown of Canada's passenger rail service would be as "short-lived as possible."

Contract negotiations between Via and Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, the union representing its 340 locomotive engineers and yardmasters, broke down Thursday overnight.

The employees have been without a collective agreement since Dec. 31, 2006.

Their union issued a strike notice on Tuesday, seeking improved wages, benefits, training and scheduling changes that would give them two consecutive days off.

Via normally shuttles more than 11,000 riders around Canada every day.

With files from The Canadian Press