Canada’s two largest railway companies will be required to pay more than $7.1 million to the Western Grains Research Foundation because the freight revenues they collected for moving western Canadian grain exceeded the revenue cap. According to an online document dated Dec. 21, the Canadian Transportation Agency has determined that Canadian National Railway exceeded its […] Read more
Tag Archives rail transportation — page 2
CN tackles grain delays
Grain shippers are getting nervous about Canadian National Railway’s faltering performance this fall, but the carrier says it has implemented changes that are already having an impact on service. CN’s performance measures have been plunging since Week 11 of the 2017-18 crop year. Its hopper car order fulfilment rate was 75 percent through Week 16 […] Read more
Transportation bill heads to the Senate
A federal bill aimed at improving Canada’s transportation systems and ensuring better rail service for shippers passed third reading in the House of Commons Wednesday and is off to the Senate. If passed, the Transportation Modernization Act will provide greater certainty for western Canadian grain shippers that depend on Canadian railway companies to transport grain […] Read more
Future of branch lines depend on volume
Canadian Pacific Railway says it will continue to review its Canadian rail network in an effort to improve safety and find operational efficiencies. However, CP officials declined to comment specifically on the future of western Canadian branch lines that are slated for discontinuance in the company’s three-year rail network plan. “As per the Canadian Transportation […] Read more
Canadian National Railway sets new grain hauling record
The company exceeded its previous record by two percent, handling 21.8 million tonnes of grain and oilseeds in 2016-17
Canada’s largest railway company moved record volumes of western Canadian grain in the 2016-17 crop year, despite a slow start to the shipping season caused by wet weather that delayed prairie harvesting operations last fall. Canadian National Railway shipped 21.8 million tonnes of western Canadian grain and oilseeds in 2016-17, roughly two percent more than […] Read more
Canada to keep revenue cap on rail grain shipments, farmers glad
OTTAWA, May 16 (Reuters) – The federal government said on Tuesday it planned to maintain a revenue cap on western grain that railways haul for export, a move farmers praised. Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway firms oppose the cap, formally known as the maximum revenue entitlement (MRE). It dates back to 2000 and […] Read more
CP focused on smoothing ruffled feathers with employees
The top executive at Canadian Pacific Railway says he is committed to building a stronger relationship with railway employees. In an April 19 conference call with investors, president Keith Creel acknowledged that relations with the company’s unionized workers have suffered over the past few years as the company has taken steps to lower operating costs […] Read more
Feds unveil new grain transportation strategy
OTTAWA — Transport minister Marc Garneau will introduce legislation next spring that he says will create a more transparent rail system. It will include reciprocal penalties between shippers and the railways in service level agreements and address concerns raised during consultations about the maximum revenue entitlement for grain (revenue cap) and extended interswitching. The minister […] Read more
Railways make case against interswitching policy
Railway Association of Canada says interswitching will cause a ‘slow and steady decline’ of short lines in Canada
Canadian railways say extended interswitching is detrimental to their operations and should be eliminated. Representatives told the federal transportation committee meeting on the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act last week that they aren’t adequately compensated for moving cars beyond the 30-kilometre regular zone to a competitor’s rail line as much as 160 km away. […] Read more
Alta. wheat growers call for rail improvements
The Alberta Wheat Commission is renewing calls for regulatory reforms that it says will lead to a more equitable relationship between railways and grain shippers. In a Sept. 15 news release, the commission called for improved railway accountability through the introduction of reciprocal monetary penalties that could be applied against grain shippers or railway companies […] Read more
