Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada’s big railways are pressing Ottawa to loosen rules around hauling the country’s crops — changes they say would improve efficiency but that farmers fear would weaken their bargaining power. A February report recommended that Ottawa institutes transportation system changes, including phasing out a 16-year-old cap on revenue that Canadian National […] Read more
Railways urge Ottawa to loosen grain hauling rules
Grain transport problems solved? Not quite
Mandated minimums for grain movement are set to expire this summer — but Alberta crop industry leaders say they’re still needed
Reading Time: 5 minutes Canada’s railways moved a record amount of grain for the 2014-15 crop year — but any improvements were mostly thanks to luck, not fixes to the system, say users. “A lot of the same issues that were evident in 2013 and 2014 are still there, but we’ve had a good run based on excellent weather, […] Read more
Post-CWB review flags grain trade ‘inefficiency’
WITHDRAWN, April 15, 2016: A historian’s review of the Prairie grain trade, commissioned by supporters of the former single marketing desk for wheat and barley, suggests history is repeating itself at grain growers’ expense — but the data on which the review is based is now being questioned. The Canadian Wheat Board Alliance on Wednesday released a […] Read more
Debate: Sask. ag leaders seek rail response
If there’s one thing all Saskatchewan’s political parties can agree on, it’s that the current rail system isn’t working for grain producers — but there’s less consensus on the solutions. Transportation is the single most important issue facing grain growers in Saskatchewan right now, said Cathy Sproule, the provincial New Democrats’ ag critic, during an […] Read more
Rail transport still needs fixing, says farm leader
Farm Vote: Mike Ammeter says Ottawa needs to fix broken system
Reading Time: 2 minutes A poor crop means rail transport might not be an issue for grain growers this year but “the challenge is still there,” says the chair of Alberta Barley. “What we went through a couple of years ago, with not being able to get our product off the Prairies to port and to our customers, was […] Read more
Eight fixes for an ailing grain shipping system
Reading Time: 3 minutes Here are excerpts from the Crop Logistics Working Group (CLWG) on its eight recommendations to improve the grain-handling and transportation system. The full report can be found here. Recommendation 1: Enhance Transparency in the Rail Market CLWG members request that the government encourage CN and CP to accurately report car order fulfilment data in a […] Read more
CLWG Submission to the CTA
Reading Time: < 1 minute On February 19, 2015, the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced a renewed mandate for the Crop Logistics Working Group (CLWG). The CLWG brings together agriculture sector experts to provide advice on how to improve the grain handling and transportation system. The CLWG is chaired by Mr. Murdoch MacKay, and includes representation […] Read more
Canada, U.S. toughen oil train safety standards
Washington/New York | Reuters — The U.S. and Canada on Friday announced long-awaited safety rules for trains carrying oil, as regulators seek to reduce risks after a series of explosive accidents that accompanied a surge in crude-by-rail shipments. The rules call for a rapid phase-out of older tank cars considered unsafe during derailments, and are […] Read more
Canada to set new speed limits on dangerous goods trains
Updated April 25, 2015 — Ottawa | Reuters — Canada will immediately impose a new speed limit of 65 kilometres per hour for dangerous goods trains moving through urban areas with more than 100,000 people, Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said Thursday. This is one of many measures the Conservative government has introduced since the July […] Read more
The little railway that could
The railway moved 2,100 rail cars last year but getting them is an ongoing challenge
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Battle River Railway is a little engine that could — and it just keeps chugging along despite challenges thrown its way. “The grain business looks good. We moved 2,100 cars last year and we have every expectation of moving that much or more this year,” said Ken Eshpeter, the railway’s chairman and CEO and […] Read more
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