Producer and agriculture groups across Canada launched a ‘Stop the Strike’ writing campaign asking the federal ministers of agriculture and labour to use all their means to stop rail workers from walking off the job.
Agriculture groups redouble pressure on governments, railways stop strike or lockout
Jasper fires force trains to go slow
CN has resumed service but at a reduced speed through the area
The Canadian National Railway line through Jasper, Alta,. is open, but trains are moving slowly due to the wildfire that destroyed a significant part of the community this week. The implications for grain movement are unknown, but unloads are already down at the port of Vancouver.
Rail strike looms as CN, CPKC workers take action to a vote
Any labour disruption could be weeks away, but the grain sector is still wary
Members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) are in the middle of a strike vote. The vote comes after three collective agreements, covering CN and CPKC engineers and conductors as well as rail traffic controllers at CPCK, expired December 31.
Railways weather few winter woes
Grain shipments on track despite January cold blast
Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – At the midway point of the 2023–24 shipping year, grain shipments are moving at a good clip. “In the last 12 to 18 months, we’ve seen some really good performance from both of the railroads,” said Mark Hemmes, president of Quorum Corporation, Canada’s grain monitor. “The exception was the last four or […] Read more
US reopens key rail crossings between Texas and Mexico
American, Mexican agriculture groups express relief
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said operations resumed at 2 p.m. ET at the international railway crossing bridges in Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas. The closures had prompted alarm from railroads, the agriculture industry and some lawmakers over the economic impact to halted export trade.
Railways blast past revenue cap
Grain moved was up 60 per cent from last season on drought recovery
Canada's two big railways will have a $7.1 million Christmas present for the Western Grains Research Foundations following a ruling they exceeded their revenue caps in 2022-23.
Interswitching resurgence puts rail, grain industries on collision course
Both sides say a pilot to test a bigger interswitching radius is a bad move, but for completely different reasons
Reading Time: 6 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Recent federal legislation has raised the stakes in a decade-long battle between the railways and Canadian grain shippers. The fight is over the interswitching radius. Interswitching is a regulation to ensure that shippers located where only a single railway operates can access points that are not served by that railway. The regulation […] Read more
Preview: Railways, grain shippers at loggerheads over interswitching
Pilot to test expanded radius deemed unnecessary by both sides
Recent legislation has raised the stakes in a decade-long battle between the railways and Canadian grain shippers over the interswitching radius. Interswitching refers to a regulation to ensure shippers located where only a single railway operates can access points that are not served by that railway. The issue is especially concerning for Canadian grain shippers […] Read more
Rail interswitching expansion pilot clears Parliament
Grain handlers to press for plan to be made permanent
Last week’s passage of the 2023 federal budget starts a 90-day countdown toward an 18-month test of expanded interswitching on railways in the three Prairie provinces. Bill C-47, the government’s budget implementation bill — which was first read April 20 in the House of Commons and got third reading in the Senate and royal assent […] Read more
Go bigger on interswitching pilot, grain groups urge Ottawa
Railways contend the measure creates inefficiencies, but farm groups say the opposite is true
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farm groups from across the country are asking producers to lobby federal ministers and MPs and urge them to super-size a government proposal for what’s called “extended interswitching.” The measure, part of this spring’s federal budget, essentially gives grain shippers a choice in which railway they deal with, as long as the competitor’s line is […] Read more
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