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Background Information

Schedule A Directives originated in 1935 from the Board of Railway Commissioners' General Order No. 539. In 1965, this became General Order No. E-7, Rules covering the preparation of accounts and rates of rental of railway-owned equipment. In 1975, the Canadian Transportation Commission, in an attempt to amend E-7, found through the Privy Council Office that it did not have the jurisdiction to make regulations for the preparation of accounts and, therefore, directives were developed. These directives were attached to an order of the Committee as schedule A, hence the name Schedule A Directives. Up until 1992, Schedule "A" was used to determine the maintenance charges on a case-by-case basis. In 1992, Schedule "A" introduced a flat rate charge for maintenance of specific crossing types.

Until 1996, Schedule "A" was attached to or referenced in all Agency crossing orders as the Agency had, under the Railway Act, the obligation to authorize the construction or reconstruction of all public crossings in Canada. These crossing orders also apportioned the costs associated with construction and maintenance.

Since 1996, under the Canada Transportation Act (CTA) and the Railway Safety Act (RSA), the Agency only apportions costs when the parties to a crossing cannot come to their own agreement. The Agency, therefore, has developed a guide in order to provide:

1. a third party assessment of railway costs for the work that railway companies perform at crossings;
2. a consistent, nation-wide rate structure for work performed by railway companies;
3. the railway rates that the Agency would apply if requested to do so under the CTA or RSA;
4. a guide to assist interested parties is assessing railway costs and negotiating agreements;
5. a basis for all existing Agency orders which still reference Schedule "A"; and,
6. a basis for funding pursuant to the RSA for crossing works and crossing protection.

The current Guide to Railway Charges for Crossing Maintenance and Construction (Guide) came into effect on January 1, 2004, and replaces the former Schedule A Directives. This Guide contains the rates a Class I railway may charge for the maintenance and construction work it performs on railway crossings and railway crossing warning systems. The rates therein do not take into consideration any costs related to crossing maintenance and construction that are incurred by parties other than the railways.