It’s almost like we’ve been transported to an alternate universe.
Canadian National Railway has been talking publicly about what a good job it has been doing hauling farmers’ grain to market.
And the Canadian Wheat Board, the railway’s biggest grain customer, agrees.
That is, to put it mildly, unusual.
The board, along with many others in the grain industry, has long been at odds with the railway, filing service complaints and criticizing the railway’s overall performance.
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That seems to have changed.
“Their service has improved noticeably in the last few months,” said Rick Steinke, CWB vice-president of logistics.
“They’re doing an excellent job.”
The key to this mutual admiration is a new operating system introduced by CN earlier this year called Scheduled Grain Plan, designed to increase the reliability of its service.
It has established operating protocols so that rail cars arrive at specific elevators at scheduled times on scheduled days every week.
In return, grain handling companies agreed to operate some country and waterfront facilities on a seven-days-a- week basis, eliminating the weekly peaks and valleys in car flows that result from weekend shutdowns.
Over the past six months, the railway has achieved more than a 90 percent success rate in meeting the target laid out in the plan, providing more predictable service to shippers.
“Through service innovation and increased efficiency in the overall supply chain, we are able to better serve our customers while increasing reliability and consistency on our network,” said Michael Cory, CN’s senior vice-president for Western Canada.
Steinke of the CWB said CN has been executing its new plan very well.
“They’ve been listening to the customer,” he said. “We’ve been in talks with them for some time and they’ve responded, which has been great to see.”
Steinke said the key will be whether the railway continues to perform at the same level in the future, adding the certainty and reliability associated with the new system helps the board make sales to overseas customers, millers and maltsters and makes more money for producers.
Given Canada’s reliance on rail transportation to move grain long distances to market, a reliable, predictable system is crucial, said Steinke.
He noted Canadian Pacific Railway went through a similar process a couple of years ago, improving its service dramatically.
