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Transportation in Canada 2006 |
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6 RAIL TRANSPORTATION
INFRASTRUCTURE
The structure of Canada’s rail system remained relatively stable in 2006. In British Columbia and Ontario, however, CPR and CN discontinued 108 route-kilometres of track. CPR transferred 209 route-kilometres of its Willingdon subdivision to the Province of Alberta.
Operations of OmniTRAX (Carlton Trail Railway in Arborfield, Saskatchewan, and Hudson Bay Railway in Sheridon, Manitoba) were transferred to the newly formed railways Thunder Rail and Keewatin Railway, respectively.
Other rationalization activity included 1,131 routekilometres of Rail America operations in Alberta transferred to CN; a portion of CSX Transportation’s Sarnia subdivision transferred to CN as the Sarnia Spur; and SRY taking over operations of the E&N line as the Southern Railway Vancouver Island Limited.
Table 6-1 shows the distribution of trackage by key carriers and carrier groups in 2006.
TABLE 6-1: RAILWAYS IN CANADA, 2006
|
2006 Owned / Leased Route- kilometres |
2005 Owned / Leased Route- kilometres |
Per cent of total (2006) |
Percentage change over previous year |
| CN Rail [CN] |
22,686 |
21,631 |
47.2 |
4.9 |
| CP Rail [CPR] |
12,812 |
13,129 |
26.7 |
(2.4) |
| Regional and Shortline Railways |
11,734 |
12,871 |
24.4 |
(8.8) |
| All Others1 |
835 |
835 |
1.7 |
0.0 |
| Total |
48,068 |
48,467 |
|
(0.8) |
Notes: By definition, route-kilometres do not include parallel trackage, spurs, sidings and yard trackage. Totals may not add up due to rounding.
- Terminal and switching railways, Canadian subsidiaries of U.S. railroads and passenger railways.
Source: Transport Canada
The formation of shortline railways exploded after the Canada Transportation Act 1996 came into force, with 37 new shortlines forming between 1996 and 2000. Only a few new shortlines have been created since then, however, and several have been transferred back to Class I railways. This has resulted in a slight reduction in the total number of railways in recent years. It is probable that more transfers will occur in coming years, but it is unlikely they will do so at the same rate as in the 1990s.
Most of the approximately 10,000 kilometres of rail line discontinued between 1990 and 2006 were divided fairly equally between CN and CPR. Ontario has experienced the most discontinuance of rail track, followed by Saskatchewan, Alberta and Quebec. While transfers in the past typically occurred from CN or CPR to shortlines, in recent years track has been transferred among shortlines, as well as from regional carriers and shortlines to CN.
Table 6-2 shows rationalization activity in the rail sector in 2006 and from 1990 to 2006.
TABLE 6-2: RAILWAY RATIONALIZATION IN CANADA
|
|
2006 Rationalization |
1990 - 2006 Rationalization |
| Discontinuances |
CPR |
26 |
4,688 |
|
CN |
82 |
4,313 |
|
Other |
|
1,065 |
|
Total |
108 |
10,066 |
| Transfers |
CPR |
209 |
4,191 |
|
CN |
|
7,983 |
|
Other |
1,765 |
7,064 |
|
Total |
1,974 |
19,238 |
| Total |
CPR |
235 |
8,879 |
|
CN |
82 |
12,296 |
|
Other |
1,765 |
8,128 |
|
Total |
2,082 |
29,304 |
Note: Totals may not add up due to rounding.
Source: Transport Canada
Since 1990, 29,304 kilometres of line have been rationalized, significantly changing the structure of Canada’s rail industry. While CN and CPR remain the dominant carriers, accounting for about 93 per cent of industry activity and revenues, they operate about 74 per cent of the total domestic rail network instead of the 90 per cent they operated a decade ago.
Addendum tables A6-1 and A6-2 provide further details of railway rationalization in Canada by province.
Major Events in 2006
Infastructure
Industry Structure
Employment
Energy
Freight Transportation
Passenger Traffic
Price, Productivity and Financial Performance
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