A new grain shipping system being pioneered by the Prairie Alliance for the Future could presage changes to the way grain is moved off the Prairies, says a transportation analyst.
“It may well be quite an interesting competitive threat to the high throughput elevators in selected areas,” said Barry Prentice, director of the University of Manitoba’s Transport Institute.
PAFF has signed a long-term lease with Canadian National Railway to take over operations on about 1,600 kilometres of branch lines in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
In addition to serving existing elevators, PAFF will work with farmers to build producer car loading sites along the lines.
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Prentice said it’s difficult to predict how the PAFF experiment will fare, but it will definitely be interesting to watch.
“It’s awfully nice to see that these things are being tried simply because it’s a chance for new models to emerge,” he said.
Groups like PAFF could arrange to ship producer car trains to direct-hit bulk commodity terminals at Vancouver, thus bypassing the whole country elevator system, he said.
Prentice said the deal is good not only for farmers but also for CN. By leasing the lines to PAFF, CN avoids the maintenance costs while retaining the salvage value.
It will also benefit by carrying on its main lines any additional rail traffic generated by PAFF.
And he said the deal may signify a turning point in the traditionally adversarial relationship between farmers and railways.
“We’ve got a new alliance here that is perhaps the first time where they are seen as being partners, and that’s a very positive development.”
