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

A CN locomotive near Jasper, Alta. (Photo courtesy CN)

Grain handle drops in CN’s first quarter

Reduced traffic in grain, fertilizers and petroleum, against increased costs from “challenging operating conditions,” ate into the first-quarter bottom line for Canadian National Railway (CN). Montreal-based CN on Monday booked net income of $741 million on total revenues of $3.194 billion for its quarter ending March 31, down from $884 million on $3.206 billion in […] Read more


Luc Jobin. (CN.ca)

CN CEO Luc Jobin steps down abruptly

Reuters — Canadian National Railway (CN) CEO Luc Jobin stepped down abruptly on Monday, as the board looks to “energize” the railroad’s leadership amid a major supply crunch that has hurt profits and angered customers. “The board believes the company needs a leader who will energize the team, realize CN’s corporate vision and take the […] Read more

(Photo courtesy CN)

CN’s Q4 grain handle down in ‘challenging conditions’

U.S. income tax reform more than offset “challenging” conditions, including reduced grain handle, in Canadian National Railway’s fourth fiscal quarter. Montreal-based CN on Tuesday reported net income of $2.611 billion on total revenues of $3.285 billion for its fourth quarter ending Dec. 31, up from $1.018 billion on $3.217 billion in the year-earlier Q4. The […] Read more


(Photo courtesy CN)

Grain handle helps lift CN quarterly revenue

An increase in Canadian grain traffic helped support Canadian National Railway’s third-quarter revenues, though the costs of increased traffic ate at its bottom line. Montreal-based CN on Tuesday reported net income of $958 million on total revenues of $3.221 billion for the quarter ending Sept. 30, down from $972 million on $3.014 billion in the […] Read more



(CN.ca)

Grain handle helps lift CN to record Q4

Traffic in Prairie grain and U.S. soybeans got credit Tuesday for helping Canadian National Railway (CN) to a record profit for its fourth fiscal quarter. Montreal-based CN booked net income of $1.018 billion on revenue of $3.217 billion for the quarter ending Dec. 31, up from $941 million on $3.166 billion in the year-earlier period. […] Read more

(CN.ca)

CN feels Prairie harvest delays in Q3 revenues

Weather-related stalls in this fall’s Prairie grain harvest have chipped away at Canadian National Railway’s (CN) third-quarter financials, as the railway booked lower profits and revenues on “shifting traffic demands.” Montreal-based CN on Tuesday reported overall net income of $972 million on $3.014 billion in revenue for the quarter ending Sept. 30, down from $1.007 […] Read more


While railway executives say there’s now capacity to deal with a big crop, the grain industry is a bit more skeptical.

Railways asking industry to all pull together

To move the coming big crop efficiently will require better 
co-operation throughout the supply chain, say railway execs

Reading Time: 3 minutes With memories of the grain-handling chaos of 2014 still fresh and another large Prairie crop looming, the railways are calling for greater collaboration in moving this year’s harvest. “To ensure success during this crop year, the broader supply chain must work together to collectively harness our energy so that the entire Canadian economy can reap […] Read more

Grain transportation has reached another fork in the track with the release of the Canadian Transportation Act review report.

Alberta Wheat chair says rail review misses the mark

Kevin Auch says lifting the revenue cap would be a mistake and reciprocal penalties are needed

Reading Time: 3 minutes A panel that spent a year and a half reviewing the Canadian Transportation Act got its key recommendations wrong. That’s the reaction from farmers, including Alberta Wheat Commission chair Kevin Auch. “We need to have some measure of a level playing field in the whole rail transportation thing,” said Auch, who farms near Carmangay. “We’re […] Read more