6 RAIL TRANSPORTATION
EMPLOYMENT
Employment in the rail sector has been declining significantly over the past 15 years, from more than 67,000 in 1990 to about 36,000 in 2004. This averages out to a 4.5 per cent decrease per year. Employment at Class I carriers dropped 49 per cent or 4.7 per cent per year over this period. Employment at regional carriers fell 5.5 per cent per year, from 5,600 to 2,500 employees. This was due in part to CN's takeover of Algoma Central. By contrast, employment at shortline carriers increased 9.7 per cent per year, from 550 to just over 2,000 employees. The relative levels of employment in each class of carrier are consistent with these changes. From 1990 to 2004, the Class I carriers dropped from 91 per cent to 87 per cent of total rail industry employment while the regional carriers dropped from 8.4 per cent to 7.2 per cent. As would be expected, shortline employment grew from a virtually non-existent proportion to about 5.8 per cent of total rail industry employment.
Table 6-4 compares the level of employment in the rail industry in 2003 and 2004. Addendum Table A6-4 shows further details.
TABLE 6-4: EMPLOYMENT IN THE RAIL INDUSTRY, 2003 AND 2004
| |
2003 |
2004 |
| Class 1 |
31,595 |
30,966 |
| Regional 1 |
2,773 |
2,550 |
| Shortline 1 |
2,029 |
2,047 |
| Total |
36,397 |
35,563 |
Note: Totals may not add up due to rounding.
- Estimated for several carriers.
Source: Transport Canada, Statistics Canada
Major Events in 2005
Infrastructure
Industry Structure
Employment
Energy
Freight Transportation
Passenger Traffic
Price, Productivity and Financial Performance
