railways cars at an inland grain terminal

Railways fined for failing to move enough grain

Farmers and grain companies say the fines are too small relative to the cost of delivery delays

Canada’s two national railways have been fined for not meeting federal targets for grain shipments, but not as much as farmers and grain companies say is warranted. CN Rail said in a statement it will pay its $100,000 for two violations “and move forward,” while CP Rail will contest a $50,000 fine for a single

railway cars

The little railway that could

Boundary Trails Railway Co. had a record year in a year of epic railway snags

Southern Manitoba’s Boundary Trails Railway Company (BTRC) had geography on its side last year, more than tripling the number of cars it handled. The 38-km short line, which runs from Morden to Binney Corner just west of Manitou, handled 619 grain cars in the 2013-14 shipping year. The company is owned by 90 shareholders, mostly


Mature man wearing glasses

CN Rail chief defends grain service, blames grain companies

But Canada’s grain 
monitor says the railways are mostly to blame
 for the backlog

CN Rail boss Claude Mongeau testily defended his company’s grain service record before MPs last week, but was often contradicted by Canada’s grain monitor, Mark Hemmes of Quorum Corporation. Hemmes, when pushed to identify who was to blame for the unprecedented grain backlog said, “I think the railways carry the brunt of it… (but) it’s

Man in suit and tie.

Railways accused of trying to swamp West Coast, Thunder Bay

The WGEA says it can handle 11,000 cars a week, but in all shipping corridors

Faced with meeting performance targets, Canada’s railways are now flooding the West Coast and Thunder Bay terminals with grain, the Western Grain Elevators Association says. Western grain elevator companies can handle the 11,000 cars a week the federal government has ordered the railways to move, but some of those cars need to go to the

Man talking into microphone.

Railways cut producer car sites

CP Rail says the points it dropped weren’t being used, but KAP says farmers need more options, not less

The railways recently cut 19 producer car loading sites across the West even though farmers are using producer cars more than ever as they struggle to get a record crop to market. “If anything we need more producer car sites, not less,” Keystone Agricultural Producers’ (KAP) president Doug Chorney said in an interview. “KAP’s policy