President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to impose 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada could have a chilling impact on cross-border rail traffic, which has been one of the few sources of volume growth for North American Class I railroads. Trump announced the plans last night in a social media post, saying that he […]
MONTREAL — Members of Canadian labor union Unifor have voted to authorize a strike against Canadian National Railway if a new contract agreement is not reached by Jan. 1, 2025. Unifor said in a press release that members of the two groups representing CN workers — Council 4000 and Local 100 — had voted 97% […]
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — A semi truck went off an overpass and struck a Canadian National train today (Friday, Nov. 22) in Winnipeg, sending the truck’s driver to the hospital and derailing an unknown number of railcars. “It appears the semi hit the train,” Winnipeg police spokeswoman Dani McKinnon told the Winnipeg Free Press. “There is […]
NEW YORK – Here are notes, quotes, and quips from the annual RailTrends conference, held Nov. 14-15. CPKC plans to build more hydrogen fuel cell locomotives Canadian Pacific Kansas City CEO Keith Creel says the railway’s handful of hydrogen fuel cell locomotives are proving themselves in revenue service every day. There are a lot more […]
NEW YORK — Canadian National CEO Tracy Robinson says she understands the skepticism surrounding key questions about the industry: Can railroads grow? Can they maintain service levels as freight volume ebbs and flows? Can they be resilient in a fast-changing world? And can they attract the talent necessary to tackle the challenges of the future? […]
NEW YORK — If there’s a silver lining to the spate of labor disruptions that have affected Canadian railways and ports over the past 15 months, it’s that Ottawa now recognizes there’s a problem. “That’s the first step in fixing it,” Canadian National CEO Tracy Robinson told the RailTrends conference last week. CN executives were […]
MONTREAL — Canada’s labor minister, Steven MacKinnon, has appointed three conciliation officers to assist in negotiations between Canadian National and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, CN said on Friday. The IBEW, which represents about CN 750 signal and communication workers across Canada, filed a notice of dispute on Oct. 29, indicating that the union […]
LONGUEUIL, Quebec — The remaining portion of a shelter-in-place order following a Canadian National derailment has been lifted. The Canadian Press reports the lockdown area south of a Thursday morning derailment that led to a chemical spill was lifted at 4:30 a.m. today (Friday, Nov. 15). Eight cars of a CN train derailed in Longueuil, […]
LONGUEUIL, Quebec — Eight cars of a Canadian National train derailed today (Thursday, Nov. 14) in suburban Montreal, releasing a cloud of a potentially hazardous material and leading to a shelter-in-place order for nearby residents as well as area schools. The derailment occurred after 8 a.m. in the community of Longueuil, on Montreal’s south shore, […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — VIA Rail Canada is asking a Canadian court to review speed restrictions imposed on its Venture passenger equipment by Canadian National Railway, saying CN has not provided any evidence or valid reasoning for the move. The Canadian Press reports VIA said in a Federal Court filing that “there is no evidence to […]
OTTAWA — Canada’s labor minister has ordered port employees back to work in British Columbia and Quebec after negotiations between unions and terminal operators reach an impasse. “I have directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order that all operations and duties at the ports resume and to assist the parties to settle their collective […]
The song and dance routine Working the North Pool was always one of my favorite pools to work. In this case a pool was a regulated number of assigned crews that rotated on what was known as a board. The first out crew was the next call and a crew that just tied up would […]
