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 […]
WASHINGTON – In the wake of the disastrous hazardous materials derailment last year in East Palestine, Ohio, the Federal Railroad Administration has repeatedly said it’s doing everything it can to improve rail safety. Yet under Administrator Amit Bose the FRA has stymied Class I railroad efforts to combine automated track and equipment inspections with traditional […]
BEISEKER, Alberta — No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were involved when 19 cars of a Canadian National train derailed today (Friday, Nov. 1) about 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) north of the town of Beiseker, the Calgary Herald reports. The derailed cars included empty petroleum tank cars and 14 cars of household goods, […]
Most British Columbia port terminals will shut down on Monday morning amid a labor dispute between the union representing 700 forepersons and the B.C. Maritime Employers Association. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 has issued a 72-hour strike notice and plans to walk off the job beginning at 8 a.m. on Nov. 4. […]
MONTREAL — Despite speed restrictions abruptly imposed by host railroad Canadian National as a safety measure on Oct. 11, VIA Rail Canada is not adjusting schedules on trips involving Venture trainsets to reflect slower running times. Instead, passengers are being given a revised delay estimate. And beginning the week of Nov. 4, the carrier is […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — Unifor, Canadian’s largest private-sector union, is calling on Canadian National Railways to prioritize passenger operations — and for more government oversight of the relationship between freight and passenger service — in the wake of restrictions CN has placed on VIA Rail Canada corridor trains in Ontario and Quebec. “This is about CN […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway saw modest revenue gains as wildfires and a work stoppage slowed operations in the third quarter in financial results announced today (Tuesday, Oct. 22). Revenue was $2.97 billion in the quarter ending Sept. 30, up 3% from the year-ago quarter. Operating income of $1.1 billion was unchanged from a year […]
MONTREAL — When safety is on the table, there can be no debate about measures taken to ensure it. So when Canadian National informed VIA Rail Canada last Friday that all Venture trainsets of less than 32 axles could not operate at track speed across highway crossings equipped with warning devices triggered by Grade Crossing […]
GERARD, Saskatchewan — A Canadian National intermodal train has derailed near the Manitoba border after striking a farm tractor, the Canadian Press reports. The incident occurred this afternoon (Oct. 16) at a grade crossing near Gerald, Sask. The driver of the tractor was killed, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, while a CN spokeswoman […]
GATINEAU, Quebec — A VIA Rail Canada train came within about 1,100 feet of a head-on collision with a Canadian National freight train in an April 2023 incident, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in an investigation report released today (Wednesday, Oct. 16). In the report, the agency renewed its call for Canada to […]
MONTREAL — Apparently triggered by one or more incidents in which a VIA Rail Canada Venture trainset failed to activate highway crossing warning devices, Canadian National is now requiring that all of VIA’s Venture-equipped trainsets operate with 32 axles. The edict came late Friday, at the beginning of Canada’s Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend. It also […]
