Toronto, Apr 23 (IANS/EFE): Canadian police said Monday that two individuals arrested for planning to derail a passenger train in Toronto had been receiving aid from Al Qaeda.

The two in custody are Chiheb Esseghaier and Raed Jaser, residents of Montreal and Toronto respectively, who are accused of conspiring to carry out a terrorist attack.

Spokespersons for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Monday at a press conference in Toronto that the two suspects are not Canadian citizens but refused to reveal their nationality.

The RCMP also refused to reveal the specific target of the attack on Canada's VIA passenger rail network.

Various media said that the two being detained had planned to attack a VIA train traveling from Toronto to New York.

But according to the RCMP's Jennifer Strachan, the intended target was more a route than a specific train.

The RCMP said that the two under arrest were under surveillance since August 2012 and that at no time was the public "in imminent danger".