The head of the Farmer Rail Car Coalition is calling on Transport Canada to release a confidential report that he says will back up the coalition’s arguments that its business plan can save farmers more than $30 million a year in rail car maintenance charges.
He questioned the department’s motives in keeping the report a secret.
“We don’t know why it’s not being released, other than the fact it might make us look good,” said FRCC president Sinclair Harrison.
A Transport Canada spokesperson said a decision on releasing the report is on hold while the government decides whether to proceed with the transfer of the federal grain hopper car fleet to the FRCC.
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“The decision on the maintenance costs and the release of the study is based on that,” said Cathy Cossaboon.
Harrison said the study, conducted by the Canadian Transportation Agency and submitted to Transport Canada last year, verifies the coalition’s claim that while the railways receive around $4,500 per car per year to cover maintenance costs, they actually pay only a fraction of that.
The coalition says it can maintain the 12,000 cars for about $1,500 each per year.
While Harrison has seen the report, he is bound to keep the details secret.
“It’s a confidential document, but I wouldn’t ask for it to be released if it didn’t support what we’ve been saying,” he said April 10.
An earlier CTA report made public in April 2004 said the railways received $4,329 per car per year through the revenue cap in crop year 2003-04.
Transport Canada asked the CTA to update that report to forecast the 2006-07 crop year, and that is the report awaiting release.
A CTA official wouldn’t discuss actual numbers, but said it’s a safe assumption that the updated report reflects inflationary increases in maintenance costs.
The report also includes unaudited statements from the two national rail companies outlining how much they claim to spend on maintenance.
Maintenance savings of more than $30 million a year have been a major selling point for the FRCC’s proposal to take over the cars, but some opponents say they don’t accept the coalition’s numbers.
Releasing the report would put that issue to rest, said Harrison.
“They should put the numbers out on the table,” he said.
“What are they afraid of? Who are they protecting?”
Harrison said FRCC has asked the department to release the report, but has been told only that it will be released when it is ready.
He said making the report public was not considered crucial by FRCC when negotiations were proceeding with Transport Canada and the railways.
But the federal department has not met with FRCC since mid-January, and the railways broke off negotiations on a leasing arrangement after the January election that brought the Conservatives to power.
