The Saskatchewan Grain Car Corp. has bumped short-line railways to the top of the priority list when doling out cars.
The government’s 906 hopper cars had previously been shared roughly equally between the two national railways, with Canadian Pacific Railway traditionally getting slightly more than half.
Bob Mason, head of the grain car corporation, said short-line companies requested a change in the rules.
“Saskatchewan taxpayers bought these cars (in the 1980s), but having them in the general fleet meant they were spending as much time serving producers in Alberta and Manitoba as in Saskatchewan.”
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He said the government decided to re-dedicate the cars for use on the province’s short lines.
The cars will be made available on a first-come, first-served basis and at commercial lease rates, although it’s unknown when the new rules will come into effect.
Roger Gadd, general manager of Great Western Railway in Shaunavon, Sask., and president of the Saskatchewan Short Line Railway Association, said in a news release the new rules are a positive development for locally owned shippers.
“A secure supply of good quality hopper cars is critical for some of our members to take advantage of new business opportunities and better serve the needs of shippers,” he said.
Another factor is the main-line railways have increased their rail car turnaround time, which reduces the number of cars they need for grain handling and frees them up for use by short lines.
Mason said the province has no plans to buy more rail cars.
“We anticipate the existing inventory is sufficient to meet existing demand.”
He said capacity, quality and availability are the key issues for shippers.
