Canada’s two national railways are reporting strong grain movement this year, claiming October was a record-breaking month. In news releases published earlier this month, Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway said they have been highly successful in delivering producers’ grain to market. CN said it moved 2.8 million tonnes of grain and processed grain […] Read more
Tag Archives grain transportation — page 2
Strike begins at CN, negotiations continue
About 3,200 conductors, train workers and yard workers at Canadian National Railway went on strike earlier today in a move that could have far-reaching implications for the Canadian agriculture industry and for the Canadian economy as a whole. “Unfortunately, we were unable to reach a deal with CN,” said officials with the Teamsters Canada Rail […] Read more
CN strike looms
A strike affecting Canada’s largest railway company could begin tomorrow. About 3,000 unionized workers at Canadian National Railway including train conductors and yard workers served notice Nov. 16 of their intent to strike beginning Nov. 19. The workers, represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) have been working without a contract since July. Representatives […] Read more
Freight rates take higher-than-normal jump
Reported increases of 12 percent indicate that railways may be managing the revenue cap more aggressively
Western Canadian grain farmers will pay more money to move this year’s crop to export position. According to multiple sources, grain freight rates on some regulated railway routes have already risen by more than 12 percent since Sept. 1. “We’ve seen our freight rates on Canadian Pacific (Railway) go up by nearly 13 percent over […] Read more
Harvest delays slow grain movement
Slow harvest progress in Western Canada is delaying the movement of grain to prairie elevators and export terminals on the West Coast and at Thunder Bay. John Brooks, executive vice-president with Canadian Pacific Railway, told investors in Montreal that the western Canadian harvest is as much as 30 percent behind normal this year. Poor harvest […] Read more
Rail, infrastructure gains give reason for optimism
Canada’s two major rail companies have taken heat over the last few years for failure to provide consistent movement of agricultural products. However, now it looks like genuine change is underway. The turnaround is remarkable. After a difficult winter in 2013-14, which the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission says cost around $6.5 billion, and more difficulties […] Read more
CP expects to ship record amount of grain this year
The railway moved 22.5 million tonnes of grain and grain products between Aug. 1, 2018, and May 31, 2019, which is 500,000 tonnes more than it’s ever done at this point in the year
Canadian Pacific Railway expects to set a new record in 2018-19 for volumes of Canadian grain moved in a single crop year. Joan Hardy, CP’s vice-president of sales and marketing, grain and fertilizers, said CP is on pace to move more grain in the current crop year than ever before. Between Aug. 1, 2018, and […] Read more
CN to appeal Ottawa’s freight embargo ruling
The CTA’s Vancouver investigation makes it clear that freight embargoes are to be used only as a tool of last resort
The Canadian Transportation Agency has ruled that Canadian National Railway breached service obligations to shippers in the Canadian pulp industry when it announced plans to impose rail freight embargoes on pulp and paper shippers last September. The CTA’s findings were the result of an investigation launched by the agency in January — the first such […] Read more
CTA investigation report cites traffic volumes
Review of rail freight service issues in Vancouver finds increased car volumes last fall could have been a possible factor
A federal investigation into rail freight service issues in Vancouver last year has identified increased traffic as a potential contributing factor behind service delays and congestion. In a second inquiry report released last month, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) said car volumes arriving at Canadian National Railway’s Thornton Railway Yard in Surrey during October and […] Read more
TSB advises extra precautions for mountain grain trains
Canada’s Transportation Safety Board has issued a pair of rail safety advisories aimed at improving rail safety and preventing uncontrolled train movements on mountain grades. The advisories were issued to Transport Canada on April 11 and stem from TSB’s investigation of a deadly train derailment earlier this year near Field, B.C., that killed three Canadian […] Read more
