Order pursuant to Section 32.01 of the Railway Safety Act (MO 21-04)

July 30, 2021

See Attached List

Dear Sir / Madam:

Please find enclosed Ministerial Order 21-04 (MO 21-04), which is issued pursuant to section 32.01 of the Railway Safety Act (RSA), regarding the reporting of emergency brake applications to the Minister of Transport.

On April 24, 2020 revisions to the Canadian Rail Operating Rules were approved, which included the addition of Rule 66. As you are aware, Rule 66 outlines the requirements for securing trains on heavy or mountain grades following an emergency brake application.

In an effort to monitor the implementation of and compliance with Rule 66 by railway companies, the Minister of Transport issued Ministerial Order 20-08 (MO 20-08) on April 27, 2020. This order required all companies listed to report to Transport Canada all occurrences of an emergency brake application that occur when a train is stopped on heavy or mountain grade. The order was effective July 1, 2020 and expired on July 1, 2021.

The Department has concluded that additional reporting of these occurrences is necessary in order to conduct a comprehensive analysis. Therefore, I am issuing Ministerial Order 21-04 (MO 21-04), which reimplements the requirements of MO 20-08 for a further 12 months. The time frame for reporting an occurrence has been extended from 48 hours to 72 hours.

All companies listed in Appendix A of MO 21-04 are required to report all occurrences of an emergency brake application that occur when a train is stopped on heavy or mountain grade to Transport Canada. This reporting will begin on September 1, 2021, and last for 12 months until September 1, 2022.

If you intend to initiate a review of the Order, you must file a request in writing with the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada (Tribunal), no later than August 30, 2021.

The Tribunal has prepared a Guide for Applicants that you may obtain from the Tribunal's Registrar at addresses listed below or by visiting the website https://www.tatc.gc.ca/.

Applications may be sent by mail, facsimile, electronic mail or delivered in person to the Transportation Appeal Tribunal Registry at the following address:

Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada
344 Slater Street
15th Floor, Suite 200
Ottawa, ON K1A 0C2
Tel. No.: 613-990-6906
Fax No.: 613-990-9153
E-mail: Registry-Greffe@tatc.gc.ca

Pursuant to section 32.3 of the RSA an order issued under section 32.01 of the RSA shall not be stayed pending a review requested under section 32.1, an appeal under section 32.2 or a reconsideration by the Minister under subsection 32.1(5) or 32.2.(3) of the RSA.

Should you have any questions, please contact Sean Rogers, Director, Regulatory Affairs at 613-298-5597 or sean.rogers@tc.gc.ca. Alternatively, if you would like to discuss technical aspects of this issue, please contact Ms. Stephanie Lines, Director, Operations Management at 613-794-3657 or stephanie.lines@tc.gc.ca.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Michael DeJong
Director General
Rail Safety
 

Enclosure: Ministerial Order 21-04

MO 21-04
Transport Canada
Order pursuant to section 32.01 of the Railway Safety Act, R.S. 1985, c. 32 (4th supp.)

Section 32.01 of the Railway Safety Act (RSA) provides the Minister of Transport with the authority to order a company, road authority or municipality to stop any activity that might constitute a threat to safe railway operations or to follow the procedures or take the corrective measures specified the order, including constructing, altering, operating or maintaining a railway work.

Whereas revisions to the Canadian Rail Operating Rules (CROR) pursuant to subsection 20 (1) of the RSA submitted by the Railway Association of Canada on behalf of their member companies was approved pursuant to section 19 (4) of the RSA to provide for permanent requirements on recovering from an emergency brake application on both mountain and heavy grades using the application of handbrakes according to the grade and weight of a train.

Whereas an emergency brake application is currently not a reportable rail occurrence.

Therefore, I find it necessary in the interest of safe railway operations to make the following Ministerial Order 21-04. Accordingly, pursuant to section 32.01 of the RSA, the companies listed in Appendix A are hereby ordered to report, within 72 hours of the occurrence, all occurrences of an emergency brake application that occur when a train is on a heavy or mountain grade to the Minister of Transport. Reporting will begin on September 1, 2021, and last until September 1, 2022. The report must be filed with Transport Canada at railsafety@tc.gc.ca and contain the following information.

• the train’s number, direction, tonnage, length and speed;
• the date and time of the occurrence;
• the location of the occurrence, including subdivision and mile point;
• the temperature at the time of the occurrence; and,
• whether the emergency brake application was train initiated or crew initiated and a summary of the reasons for the emergency brake application.

This Order is effective on September 1, 2021, and will remain in effect until September 1, 2022, unless it is repealed by the Minister of Transport.

Pursuant to subsection 32.1(1) of the RSA, a person to whom an order is sent under section 32.01 of the RSA may, on the date specified in the order, file a request for a review with the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada (Tribunal).

If you intend to request a review of this Order, you must file a request in writing with the Tribunal, which must be postmarked no later than August 30, 2021.

Pursuant to section 32.3 of the RSA an order issued under section 32.01 of the RSA shall not be stayed pending a review requested under section 32.1, an appeal under section 32.2 or a reconsideration by the Minister of Transport under subsection 32.1(5) or 32.2.(3) of the RSA.

Michael DeJong
Director General, Rail Safety

July 30, 2021
Date

Appendix A

• 9961526 Canada Limited
• Arnprior Nepean Railway Co. Inc.
• Battle River Railway NGC Inc.
• Big Sky Railway Corp.
• BioPower Sustainable Energy Corporation
• BNSF Railway Company
• Boundary Trail Railway Company, Inc.
• Canadian National Railway Company
• Canadian Pacific Railway Company
• Cando Rail Services Ltd.
• Canfor Pulp Ltd. – Northwood Division
• Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia Railway Ltd.
• Cargill Limited – Cargill Limitée
• Carlton Trail Railway Company
• Central Maine and Quebec Railway Canada Inc.
• Central Manitoba Railway Inc.
• Chemin de fer de Québec-Gatineau Inc.
• Chemin de fer Québec North Shore & Labrador
• Chemin de fer Orford Express Inc.
• Chemin de fer Sartigan
• City of Ottawa carrying on business as Capital Railway
• Compagnie du Chemin de fer Roberval-Saguenay
• CSX Transportation, Inc.
• Eastern Maine Railway Company
• Essar Steel Algoma Inc.
• GIO Railways Corporation
• Goderich-Exeter Railway Company Limited
• Great Canadian Railtour Company Ltd.
• Great Sandhills Railway Ltd.
• Great Western Railway, Ltd.
• Hudson Bay Railway Company
• Huron Central Railway Inc.
• Kamloops Heritage Railway Society
• Keewatin Railway Company
• Kettle Falls International Railway Company
• Knob Lake and Timmins Railway Company Inc.
• Koch Fertilizer Canada, ULC
• Lake Line Railroad Inc.
• Last Mountain Railway
• Maska-Wa Transportation Association Inc.
• Metrolinx
• National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK)
• Nipissing Central Railway
• Norfolk Southern Railway Company
• Ontario Northland Transportation Commission
• Ontario Southland Railway Inc.
• Pacific & Arctic Railway Navigation, British Columbia & Yukon Railway, British Yukon Railway doing business as White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad (WP&YR)
• Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc.
• Port Stanley Terminal Rail Inc.
• Prairie Rail Solutions Ltd.
• Prudential Steel ULC
• RaiLink Canada Ltd.
• Railserve Inc.
• Réseau de transport métropolitan
• RIO Tinto Alcan
• RTC Rail Solution Ltd.
• Société du chemin de fer de la Gaspésie
• Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society
• Southern Rails Co-operative Ltd.
• Southern Railway of British Columbia Limited
• South Simcoe Railway Heritage Corporation
• St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad (Québec) Inc.
• St. Paul & Pacific Northwest Railroad Company, LLC
• Stewart Southern Railway Inc.
• The Essex Terminal Railway Company
• The Toronto Terminals Railway Company Limited
• The Vintage Locomotive Society Inc. O/A Prairie Dog Central Railway
• Thunder Rail Ltd.
• Torch River Rail Inc.
• Trillium Railway Co. Ltd.
• Trillium Railway Co. Ltd. (Port Colborne Harbour Railway)
• Transport Ferroviaire Tshiuetin Inc.
• Union Pacific Railroad Company
• VIA Rail Canada Inc.
• West Coast Express Limited
• West Coast Railway Association
• York-Durham Heritage Railway