Reading Time: 3 minutes Nearly three dozen North American agriculture groups, in a joint letter to the U.S. and Canadian governments today, urged action to avoid a rail stoppage.
North American agriculture groups ask US, Canadian governments to stop rail strike
Industry and shippers brace for Canada rail stoppage, fear ‘catastrophe’
Reading Time: 3 minutes North American industry groups and shippers are bracing for an unprecedented simultaneous stoppage at both of Canada's main railway companies that could inflict billions of dollars' worth of economic damage.
Canada labour board ruling opens door for rail workers to be off the job by Aug. 22
Reading Time: 2 minutes Workers at Canada’s two major railways could be on strike as early as Aug. 22 following a decision by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) issued Aug. 9 on the safety implications of a stoppage.
CN closes deal on Iowa railway
The agreement will link about 275 track miles to the carrier's U.S. rail network
Reading Time: < 1 minute Canadian National Railway (CN) has inked a deal to buy an Iowa railway and connect it to its U.S. rail network, the company announced Dec. 6.
Go bigger on interswitching pilot, grain groups urge Ottawa
Railways say the measure creates inefficiencies; 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
CBOT weekly outlook: Circumstances could mess with usual holiday lull
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Usually at this time of year, the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) slips into its holiday lull, with most trading sticking to a sideways range, Scott Capinegro of Barrington Commodities said, suggesting that could change. “With such geo-political stuff going on and a possible railroad strike [in the United States], it kind of […] Read more
CN signals staff to return to work Wednesday
IBEW, railway to go to binding arbitration
Reading Time: 2 minutes Signals and communications workers at Canadian National Railway (CN) are set to end their 17-day strike and return to work Wednesday morning. CN, in a statement Monday, said the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) System Council 11, which represents about 750 of the company’s employees across the country, had agreed to take its labour […] Read more
CP disputes TSB’s conclusions on fatal grain train crash
Safety board urges automatic parking brakes, 'enhanced' brake testing for conditions
Reading Time: 4 minutes The federal Transportation Safety Board’s report into the fatal derailment of a Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) grain train in the Rocky Mountains in 2019 calls for changes to train braking systems and maintenance. CP, however, is questioning the TSB’s conclusions about the braking performance of the train involved, saying those conclusions are “based on inappropriate […] Read more
Hedge fund TCI seeks delay in CN CEO search
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — TCI Fund Management said on Thursday Canadian National Railway’s search for a new chief executive officer should be delayed until shareholders at the nation’s top rail operator vote for a new search committee to elect a CEO. The announcement comes days after CN said TCI’s pick and former Union Pacific executive Jim Vena […] Read more
CN rerouting trains, aims to re-open line to Vancouver on weekend
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Canadian National Railway (CN) said Wednesday it was aiming to reopen its track in the crucial Kamloops-to-Vancouver corridor in flood-hit British Columbia this weekend. The Pacific province, trying to rebuild after devastating floods in November, received more rain over the weekend and this week. CN operates one of the two critical rail lines […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
