VANCOUVER, B.C. — The Canadian Transportation Agency announced on Monday that it will investigate rail freight performance in the area of Vancouver, British Columbia — the first time it is using its new authority to launch such investigations.
Canadian National and Canadian Pacific responded with statements defending their performance in the Vancouver area, with CP CEO Keith Creel saying the railroad “takes great exception” to being included in the investigation.
The agency said in a press release that it determined the investigation, possible because of provisions added to the Canada Transportation Act in 2018, was appropriate “based on information received from shippers associations and other parties. The matters covered by the investigation will include whether there is evidence of discriminatory treatment of certain commodities, how freight rail permits and/or embargoes are being used, and whether railway companies operating in the Vancouver area are fulfilling their service obligations.” If it determines the railroads are not fulfilling those obligations, the agency can order remedies.
Agency CEO Scott Streiner said in the release, “We’ll get the investigation done as quickly as possible, but we’ll take the time required to gather all the relevant facts.”
A hearing will be held in late January.
“What one would hope to see coming out of the investigation is a third-party realistic assessment of either how good or how bad the situation is,” says Bob Ballantyne, president of the Freight Management Association of Canada, a group that represents about 100 shippers.
Shippers have been affected by Vancouver-area service problems for weeks, Ballantyne says.
“There clearly are problems,” Ballantyne says. “It seems to be mostly things like forest products that are being most affected.”
The success of Canada’s export-based economy, along with the surge of U.S.-bound Asian imports that land at Vancouver, have put pressure on transportation infrastructure in and around Canada’s busiest port city. Real estate is expensive, and many transportation facilities are hemmed him by water, mountains, or existing development.
“The problems are going to have to be dealt with, but on a long-term basis,” Ballantyne says.
The Canadian Press reports that the Forest Products Association of Canada welcomes the investigation, the report says, claiming that rail delays cost the industry over $500 milion last year, and that in its response, CN said it would cooperate fully. The railroad said it “acted swiftly and efficiently to serve its customers during this period and played its role in moving record volumes through Vancouver’s complex and multi-commodity supply chain. During this period, CN moved 10 per cent more freight through Vancouver than last year.”
In CP’s statement, Creel said, “”We have not been made aware of any formal complaints to the CTA relating to our service in Vancouver, nor has the CTA been in touch with us prior to launching this investigation. It is irresponsible to institute an investigation without at minimum reaching out to ask CP for information. We have always been forthright and cooperative with the CTA.” Canadian Pacific noted it set a single-month record for grain shipments to the Port of Vancouver in November 2018, and that car processing time at its Coquitlam, B.C., yard improved by 21 percent in December 2018 over the previous year.
— Updated at 10:30 a.m. CST on Jan. 15 with comments from president of Freight Management Association of Canada.
