Image description: Rail Transportation Network
The map of Canada shows the layout and extent of the Canadian rail system. This system currently has over 44,917 route-kilometres of track broken down into Canadian National track (48.8 per cent of the system, represented by blue lines), Canadian Pacific track (29.1 per cent, represented by red lines) and other railways track (22.2 per cent, represented by green lines).
Competitiveness and efficiency
Amendments to the Transportation Information Regulations came into force on April 4, 2023. The new regulations provide for additional geographic dimensions and a broader range of commodities to be reported. Freight rail service and performance information is now updated weekly and is available on the Transportation Data and Information Hub.
The National Supply Chain Task Force’s Final Report identified several rail-related recommendations for supporting fluid, integrated, and efficient supply chains. To further examine these recommendations, Transport Canada initiated a Freight Rail Review in fall 2023 with a lens to make sure the economic framework governing the federal freight rail sector continues to evolve and meets the needs of Canada’s supply chains. The Review is focused on four main areas of work, including:
- efficiency and effectiveness of the freight sector
- mandate and powers of the agency
- long-term investment in a robust and resilient network, and
- efficiency and integration of shortlines
Throughout the fall and winter, Transport Canada heard from a diverse set of rail stakeholders, including shippers, shortlines, industry associations, ports, other government departments, and provincial and territorial counterparts as part of the Freight Rail Review. The review is ongoing, and we continue to engage with transportation stakeholders from across Canada in 2024.
The National Supply Chain Task Force recommended that the regulated interswitching distance of 30 km be expanded across Canada to improve the resilience of the rail transportation system. Interswitching is a competitive access measure that allows rail shippers to access an alternate rail carrier at a nearby interchange, at a regulated rate set by the Canadian Transportation Agency. By creating access to an alternate railway, interswitching can create competition between railways that would otherwise not exist.
To this end, the Government of Canada introduced a measure in the 2023 Budget Implementation Act to extend the interswitching limit in the Prairie provinces to 160 km for 18 months, starting on September 20, 2023. The Government will be closely monitoring the use of extended interswitching and assessing any supply chain impacts resulting from its implementation, while the time-limited nature and geographic restrictions of the pilot limit the potential for unintended consequences.
In 2023, the Government of Canada continued to work with an external advisor to analyze options to improve passenger rail frequencies, on-time performance and shorten travel times in Southwestern Ontario. Notably, Transport Canada is in the review process of the report, which is aimed at assessing concrete options to enhance passenger service in Southwestern Ontario. The final report was delivered at the end of the fiscal year and will be used to inform next steps on how to improve intercity passenger rail in Southwestern Ontario.
Safety and security
Duty and rest period rules for railway operating employees
In 2018, the Railway Safety Act Review Panel recommended that Transport Canada take a leadership role with respect to fatigue in the railway industry and regulate “prescriptive minimum criteria and nonprescriptive measures based on fatigue science”. The Duty and Rest Period Rules for Railway Operating Employees were approved on November 25, 2020, came fully into effect for freight railways in May 2023, and will come into effect for passenger railways in November 2024.
The new rules represent a historic improvement over the existing rules, such as placing new limits on the length of a duty period and increasing the length of the minimum rest period between shifts.
Rules respecting track safety
In response to several derailments in 2019-2020, Transport Canada required railway companies to review the Rules Respecting Track Safety to include key performance indicators for track analysis, reinforcing crosstie inspection requirements, and granting Transport Canada inspectors access to more track standard information for consistent oversight nationwide. The required changes were implemented in 3 phases. The latest phase came into effect on May 31, 2023, and Transport Canada has now started oversight on the new requirements.
Railway freight and passenger train brake inspection and safety rules
In response to a 2022 recommendation made by the Transportation Safety Board, and following the 2019 fatal train derailment near Field, British Columbia, Transport Canada required the rail industry to revise and strengthen the Railway Freight and Passenger Train Brake Inspection and Safety Rules. The primary goal of these measures was to mitigate the inherent risk of uncontrolled movements, fostering nationally consistent standards for enhanced air brake performance. The rules were amended in 2 phases.
- Phase I came into effect on May 1, 2023. It strengthened regular air brake inspection requirements and procedures and introduced a new requirement for railway companies to develop a Train Brake Winter Operating Plan
- Phase II was approved on September 29, 2023, and will come into effect in December 2025
Once in place, they will require railway companies to establish enhanced standards for brake cylinder testing and maintenance of freight cars and allow for the use of new technology-based testing of air brakes performed by automated trackside wheel temperature detectors.
Green transportation
Rail transportation makes Canada’s transportation network more efficient by reducing congestion and wear-and-tear on roads and highways. A 100-car freight train carrying 10,000 tonnes of goods can replace 300 trucks. Railways can also play an important role in supporting the Government’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Under a series of voluntary agreements with the Railway Association of Canada, Transport Canada has been working with the rail industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and track emissions intensity levels through annual reporting. The 2018-2022 version of the agreement set greenhouse gas emissions intensity reduction targets for 2022, including a 6% reduction for Class 1 freight and intercity passenger, and a 3% drop for regional and shortlines.
In December 2023, Transport Canada and the Railway Association of Canada published a renewed agreement for the 2023-2030 period that reflects a shared vision of working toward net-zero emissions by 2050, and includes several areas for collaboration and sustainability milestones.
For example, Class I freight railways will continue to reduce emissions intensity in accordance with their Science Based Targets (SBTi) and have committed to achieve absolute emission reductions by 2030 aligned with SBTi-modeled pathways. Areas of collaboration include working to advance low-carbon fuel use, moving more goods and people by rail where possible, and accelerating the development of advanced net-zero solutions for locomotives.
Also in December 2023, Transport Canada and the U.S. Departments of Energy and Transportation made a joint statement to announce the creation of a Canada-U.S. Rail Decarbonization Task Force. Through this forum, Canada and the U.S. are working on a joint research agenda to test the safe integration of emerging technologies and coordinating strategies to accelerate the rail sector’s safe transition from diesel-powered locomotives to zero-emission technologies.