WASHINGTON — The potential impacts of tariffs on the North American economy, and its rail industry, have been deferred after the Trump administration and the governments of Canada and Mexico agreed to postpone tariffs that would have taken effect Tuesday, Feb. 4. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote in a post on X.com that his […]
MONCTON, New Brunswick — A Moncton developer and former owner of a rail equipment company owes the province of New Brunswick almost Ca$5 million as a result of a failed effort to refurbish rolling stock for VIA Rail Canada, the CBC reports. Court of King’s Bench Justice Thomas Christie ruled earlier this month that developer […]
TORONTO — A group of F59 locomotives from LA-area commuter operator Metrolink will be used for operational support for GO Transit and as spare parts for GO Transit’s existing F59 fleet, provincial transit agency Metrolinx has announced. Ontario Northland will refurbish the locomotives, Metrolinx said in a press release that focused primarily on planned renovations […]
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s intermodal reefer container business got a boost today with the announcement that partner Americold Realty Trust will build a cold storage facility at the Port of Saint John, New Brunswick. “Developing a state-of-the-art facility in Port Saint John marks an exciting step forward for Americold as the company […]
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific Kansas City today said that it has reached a tentative four-year collective agreement with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Maintenance of Way Employees Division (TCRC-MWED), which represents engineering service employees in Canada. “Working together with the TCRC-MWED, we are pleased to have reached an agreement that is good for our […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers of Canada have reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract, averting a strike that that been slated to begin today. The union represents approximately 750 signals and communications employees across Canada. They have been working without a contract since Dec. 31, 2024. […]
Recent rail union news: — Amtrak dining car stewards represented by the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division (SMART-TD) unanimously ratified a new agreement, retroactive to July 1, 2022 and running through Dec. 1, 2028, that will provide a compounded raise of 40.21% over the life of the contract. Other […]
MONTREAL — Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Canada are set for a walkout on Tuesday, Jan. 28, after issuing a 72-hour strike notice. The Canadian Press reports the union represents about 750 signal and communications workers, who are prepared to walk out if a new agreement is not reached by the […]
CALGARY, Alberta — Track that buckled in an area of deteriorated structure led to the derailment of 41 cars of a Canadian Pacific train near Bassano, Alb., on July 13, 2022, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in an investigation report released today (Jan. 22, 2025). The 11,758-foot, 29,021-ton train had five locomotives — […]
GATINEAU, Quebec — A broken rail caused to the Canadian National derailment that led to a hazardous-materials release and shelter-in-place order in a Montreal suburb in November 2024, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in a report released on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. The derailment in Longueuil, Que., occurred about 8:27 a.m. on Nov. […]
TORONTO — Ontario transit agency Metrolinx has signed an agreement with Alstom to overhaul 181 bilevel railcars for Toronto-area commuter rail operator GO Transit. The agreement, valued at approximately Ca$500 million ($347 million U.S.), calls for overhauls and modernization of the Series VIII cars to be conducted at Alstom’s Thunder Bay, Ont., plant beginning by […]
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — Notes from the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers’ Winter Meeting, which concluded today (Jan. 16, 2025): The Iowa Northern decision The MARS meeting opened the day after the Surface Transportation Board issued its long-awaited decision approving Canadian National’s purchase of Iowa Northern Railway, a deal effective Feb. 13 [see “STB greenlights Canadian […]
