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TRANSPORTATION: Federal ruling on rail service levels wins farmers’ praise

            (AlbertaIndex, July 16, Monday) --- On behalf of Alberta’s farmers, the province’s Agriculture and Food Ministry has praised Canadian Transportation Agency’s recent ruling that Canadian National (CN) had breached its statutory obligation to provide adequate and suitable rail service.

            Minister George Groeneveld said the agency ruled that CN’s car supply policies were too restrictive for smaller shipper companies.
           
Under a new program, companies will be able to book 50 railway cars in advance, instead of the current 100, and will be able to trade space with other shippers.
            Mr Groeneveld said: “I would like to commend the Canadian Transportation Agency for restoring the competitive balance and establishing a reliable car allocation system for farmers and grain shippers across Western Canada. We hope that shippers and     carriers will use this decision to deal with car supply issues without further regulation.
            “The provincial government has been working on this issue for several months. We commissioned a rail service study and sent it, along with a joint letter from the prairie ag ministers, to Federal Agricultural Minister Chuck Strahl asking for a full review of this issue. In addition, we intervened in the Canadian Transportation Agency’s hearing in support of the complainant’s application.
            He said that Alberta farmers have been hampered by low rail service levels and a lack of capacity, which prevents smaller shippers from moving their grain to market efficiently.
            He said: “This creates added costs and marketing challenges for many grain farmers in Alberta and across Western Canada. I’m glad to see that the CTA agreed with our position and that there were steps taken to resolve this issue.”

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