A federal court has upheld a 2013 ruling by the Canadian Transportation Agency that forces Canadian National Railway to honour railway interswitching provisions in southern Manitoba.
In a decision handed down last month, the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that the CTA acted properly when it allowed an interswitching application by grain company Richardson International.
The interswitching application requested that CN move rail cars between Letellier, Man., and nearby Emerson, Man., where the cars could be switched to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railway network for delivery into the United States.
Read Also
Most of Manitoba harvest wraps up for 2025
Manitoba Agriculture issued its final crop report of 2025, showing the overall provincewide harvest at 97 per cent complete as of Oct. 20. Nearly all major crops have finished combining, with 37 per cent of Manitoba’s sunflowers finished, plus 71 per cent of grain corn and small amounts of soybeans and potatoes left to do.
Richardson requested interswitching service in 2013 but its request was denied by CN. In December 2013, CTA ruled that CN was obligated to honour Richardson’s request and uphold interswitch provisions.
In essence, the decision meant that CN would be required to pick up empty rail cars delivered to Emerson by BNSF and move them to Richardson’s elevator at Letellier, Man., about 20 kilometres from the U.S. border.
CN would also be obliged to pull loaded rail cars from Letellier, back to Emerson, where they would be switched back to the BNSF network and hauled to their destination.
CN appealed the CTA ruling in 2014, suggesting that the CTA erred in its assessment of the circumstances and CN’s obligations as outlined in the Canada Transportation Act.
The Federal Court of Appeal ruling dismissed the CN appeal with costs.
The CN appeal was heard in Toronto March 4, 2015. The judgment was delivered Aug. 17.
Richardson’s Red River South elevator is located along CN’s Letellier subdivision, about 95 km south of Winnipeg and 20 km north of Emerson, on the U.S. border.
BNSF’s track runs as far as Emerson, where the two companies’ rail networks are connected.
The Red River South elevator is a high throughput elevator with 16,300 tonnes of storage capacity and a 104-car rail siding. It is well positioned to ship Canadian grain into the United States.
Richardson’s 2013 acquisition of an oat processing plant in South Sioux City, Nebraska, presented an opportunity for it to source Canadian oats grown in southern Manitoba and ship them to South Sioux City via BNSF, with the help of Canadian interswitching provisions.
In May 2013, Richardson advised CN that it intended to order a train of 100 empty rail cars from BNSF for interswitch delivery to Letellier.
CN said the Letellier facility was not open to interswitching with other rail carriers and claimed that CN’s official interchange location with BNSF was located in the U.S. at Noyes, Minnesota.
The CTA ruling supported Richardson’s application, which has now been upheld by the Federal Court of Appeal.
Interswitching provisions contained in the Canada Transportation Act are a sore spot for Canada’s major railway carriers.
Last year, in an attempt to provide more shipping options to Canadian grain shippers, Ottawa extended interswitching provisions to a 120 km radius of recognized interchange locations, up from 30 km previously.
Both CN and Canadian Pacific Railway were openly critical of the move, saying enforcement of interswitching would reduce railway efficiency and result in a less fluid rail system.
Contact brian.cross@producer.com
