Rail service for grain in southwestern Manitoba has been bad in recent months, Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) president Dan Mazier said during the farm group’s advisory council here April 20.
“I understand from talking to Manitoba producers that in some areas grain shipping is as bad as 2013-14,” Mazier said in his opening address. “Some elevators hadn’t seen a rail car since Christmas, and now the roads are flooded so it’s impossible for many farmers to deliver to their elevators.”
That was confirmed by Boissevain farmer Clifford McCallum.
Read Also
Grain movement success goes beyond volume
Moving more grain year over year is a good thing, but it is only one of the metrics that helps Canada keep our customers.
“Boissevain (which is served by CP Rail) had one train on Boxing Day and they were supposed to get one on April 9,” McCallum said. “It came on the 10th. But that is all the rail movement Boissevain has had. Now they are supposed to get a train, but roads are washed out and people can’t get in their yards. So there should be something done so they can move grain in the wintertime.”
Minto farmer Bill Campbell said he signed a contract to deliver grain in January but hadn’t been able to as of April 20.
“We need to keep lobbying and try to get it fixed,” he said.
A Foxwarren farmer said he had a contract to deliver grain to a buyer on a CP Rail line in February. Because of the lack of service he trucked the grain, at his own cost, to a buyer on the CN Rail line near Brandon.
Souris farmer Walt Findlay said some of the fault lies with grain companies. When cars are allocated grain companies pick which elevators get them, he said.
“This is not just a CP Rail problem,” he said.
Findlay also said he has heard the railways want to ship Manitoba grain east and might have been waiting for Port of Thunder Bay to open this spring.
KAP delegates passed a resolution calling on the federal government to review CP Rail’s performance in Manitoba.
KAP is also hoping for some relief through amendments to the Canada Transportation Act promised by the federal government expected to be tabled in June.
“This poor rail service is really frustrating,” Mazier said in an interview May 1.
“The grain needs to get moved in the winter before floods and road restrictions.
“I can’t get over how farmers can sign a contract to deliver in December and still not have months later.”
CP Rail has delivered numerous trains to southwestern Manitoba since December, Jeremy Berry, CP Rail’s director of media relations, said in an email April 28.
“The grain companies themselves decide how and where their dedicated train sets will be used,” he wrote. “That said, the Port of Thunder Bay winter closure may have played a role in more infrequent service. The individual customers are encouraged to call their local grain company or CP and we can look into their concerns.”
Overall, western Canadian grain has been moving well this crop year, says Mark Hemmes, the president of Quorum Corporation, which monitors grain shipping for the federal government. While CP Rail’s performance hasn’t been as strong as CN Rail’s, it’s much better than in 2013-14, he said.
The Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA), which represents the West’s major grain companies, agrees.
“Overall we are getting pretty decent service — excellent service from CN and good service from CP,” WGEA executive director Wade Sobkowich, said in an interview April 27. “But that’s the problem with averages, there’s always a range. I don’t doubt there are elevators struggling to get rail cars from time to time.”
