A senior official with Transport Canada says the grain industry won’t be ignored in the rail freight service review now getting underway.
The review will be a broad look at rail freight service across the country, said Helena Borges, director-general of surface transportation policy for Transport Canada.
But that doesn’t mean specific issues raised by various customers, including grain shippers, won’t get a thorough review.
“We are very committed to addressing the concerns about rail service that have been posed by shippers of all commodities,” she said.
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“For example, the captive shipper issue is definitely part of the mandate of the review.”
A number of grain industry groups, including the Canadian Wheat Board and the Western Grain Elevator Association, have expressed concern about the all-encompassing nature of the review.
CWB director Ian McCreary is worried the review will reach conclusions based on average rail service for all commodities in all regions of the country, and not focus on those who have problems.
“Averages don’t mean anything if you’re the one who consistently gets poorer than average service,” he said.
However, Borges said such concerns are unfounded, adding the final report will include an assessment of service received by individual commodities.
“Grain could have some particular recommendations,” she said.
Some grain industry groups are also concerned about the terms of reference for the review, notably one that mentions the need for railways to receive sufficient revenues to maintain and improve services and invest in new capacity.
They say there is no such concern apparent for shippers’ revenues.
Borges said that is simply not the case, and in fact the first three items listed in the terms of reference are focused on meeting shippers’ needs.
One talks about developing a consistent and reliable rail system that will help shippers “remain competitive and prosper in the marketplace.” Another talks about helping shippers compete in domestic and foreign markets and a third highlights the fact that some shippers of bulk commodities have few practical alternatives to rail.
“Those are three fairly strong statements about the prosperity of the shipping industry, about having really good rail service and about taking a look at the issue of captive shippers,” she said.
Borges also assured shippers that they will have an opportunity to meet directly with the three-member panel that will be responsible for making recommendations.
“Every step of this review ends up going back to consultation with shippers,” she said.
It could be up to 18 months before the review is complete.
Over the next six to eight months, Edmonton-based consulting company QGI will gather data from shippers and railways to identify problems and issues in the logistics chain, including the railways’ ability to fill car orders and to provide consistent transit times, and identify best operating practices for all parties involved.
That analysis will then be turned over to the yet-to-be-named panel, which will make recommendations to the government.
QGI is part of the Quorum Group, which also includes Quorum Corp., which acts as the federal grain monitor.
Quorum Corp. president Mark Hemmes said the company’s experience in grain monitoring will assist it in gathering data and analyzing issues in an objective, scientific way.
“I think this will be good for the railways in explaining to shippers the challenges the railways face, and vice versa,” he said.
Many of the eight to 10 Quorum employees who will be working on the project have in the past worked for the railways.
However, Hemmes said that shouldn’t be a concern.
“I think the work we have done as grain monitor has proven we don’t carry pro-railway bias,” he said, adding that those involved in the study haven’t been affiliated with the railways for a number of years.
