File photo of a CN locomotive. (Dave Bedard photo)

CN service continues as signals staff strike

Talks continue after IBEW-represented employees stopped work Saturday

Canadian National Railway is reporting “normal” rail operations after its signals and communications workers walked out on strike starting Saturday. Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), which represents about 750 CN employees across Canada, served the railway with strike notice last Wednesday and started their strike Saturday morning, the company said. IBEW […] Read more

File photo of a CN locomotive in Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

CN to reopen to Vancouver Wednesday

Prince Rupert also available, CN reminds shippers

Canadian National Railway (CN) says it’s almost set to resume some service to Vancouver, starting early Wednesday. Montreal-based CN said in an emailed statement Tuesday that repair work on damaged sections of its track from Kamloops to Vancouver “progressed well over the weekend” and the line will reopen to “limited traffic” tomorrow “barring any unforeseen […] Read more


An idle CN train is parked next to an empty Via Rail commuter station at Trenton, Ont. on Feb. 25, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Chris Helgren)

CN starts calling back laid-off employees

"Network recovery... will take several weeks"

Montreal | Reuters — Canadian National Railway has started calling back many of the 450 workers it laid off earlier this month in Eastern Canada, when blockades crippled operations on strategic rail lines, according to a company email sent to customers Friday. Earlier this week, police made 10 arrests and cleared a blockade in eastern […] Read more

Farmers dump bags of corn grain in front of the Papineau riding office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Montreal, as they protest the lack of propane due to the CN strike, on Nov. 25, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Christinne Muschi)

CN conductors approve post-strike deal

Canadian National Railway’s conductors and yard workers have voted for at least another two and a half years of labour peace with the company. The affected employees, members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, voted 91.3 per cent to ratify a three-year contract with CN, retroactive to last July 23, the union said in a […] Read more


(CN.ca)

CN reports grain movement back at pre-strike pace

Canadian National Railway’s grain shipping is back to its pre-strike pace, the railway says. “By the second week of December (week 19), CN returned to shipping at peak levels, as well as taking on all customer hopper demand for the second and third weeks of December,” Montreal-based CN said in a release Thursday. “Despite a […] Read more

A freight train at Manchac, La., about 75 km east of Baton Rouge. (CN.ca)

CN strike to weigh on railway’s 2019 profit

Reuters — Canadian National Railway on Tuesday cut its adjusted profit growth target for 2019, citing shipment delays from the country’s largest rail strike in a decade that ended last week. Shares in CN, which counts billionaire Bill Gates’ investment firm as its biggest shareholder, fell almost two per cent in morning trading in both […] Read more


Farmers dump bags of corn grain in front of the Papineau riding office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Montreal, as they protest the lack of propane due to the CN strike, on Nov. 25, 2019.

Make rail transport an essential service, say crop commissions

Wheat and barley commissions say crop sector can’t afford to have strikes ‘every few years’

Reading Time: 3 minutes The longest rail strike in a decade is over, but the need for a new way to deal with rail disruptions is as pressing as ever, say Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley. “The threat of strikes affecting grain movement is a recurring theme every few years and we need a long-term solution to ensure Canada […] Read more

CN employees picket outside the company’s rail yard at North Battleford, Sask. on Nov. 25, 2019. (Canadian Cattlemen photo by Lisa Guenther)

CN, Teamsters reach deal to end strike

Montreal | Reuters — Teamsters Canada and Canadian National Railway on Tuesday said they reached a tentative deal to end a strike at the country’s largest railroad that had entered its eighth day, disrupting supply chains across the country. “We have a deal,” a CN spokesman said. The union said normal operations will resume on […] Read more


CN locomotives in Winnipeg. (Photo courtesy CN)

CN’s grain handle up in record quarter

Traffic in Canadian National Railway’s grain and fertilizers segment rose eight per cent in its latest quarter, helping the company to record quarterly revenue. Montreal-based CN on Oct. 23 reported net income of $1.134 billion on $3.688 billion in revenues for its quarter ending Sept. 30, up from $958 million on $3.221 billion in its […] Read more

This CP Rail graphic shows how new hopper cars and longer trains will eventually up the capacity of a unit train by nearly 45 per cent.

CP joins CN in rejuvenating grain hopper car fleet

New-generation hopper cars are shorter, 
carry more grain, and are faster to load and unload

Reading Time: 2 minutes CP Rail says it will spend more than $500 million on new high-capacity grain hopper cars. The company announced last month it has ordered 1,000 new hopper cars and expects to see more than 500 of them in service by the end of the year. “These new rail cars will revitalize our fleet,” said CP […] Read more