A freight train at Manchac, La., about 75 km east of Baton Rouge. (CN.ca)

U.S. railroads, union extend strike deadline until at least Dec. 4

Teamsters warn against 'blatant attempt to cause panic'

Washington | Reuters — A group representing major railroads and a union that voted to reject a new contract said Wednesday they had agreed to extend a potential strike deadline until at least Dec. 4. The National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED) that represents 11,000 workers extended the current […] Read more

File photo from a Teamster-represented engineers’ picket at CN in Winnipeg in 2009. (Dave Bedard photo)

Unions rip supply chain report’s language on strikes

Task force calls for 'new labour relations paradigm'

Recommendations from the federal government’s National Supply Chain Task Force to strengthen the country’s supply chains have drawn a cheer but also one significant jeer from unions in the transport sector. The task force’s final report, released Oct. 6, offered up 21 recommendations aimed at easing congestion in Canada’s ports, filling labour shortages and improving […] Read more

Signage outside an IBEW office in Winnipeg. (File photo by Dave Bedard)

Arbitration leads to deal for CN signals staff

IBEW held 17-day strike in summer

Canadian National Railway (CN) has labour peace with its signals and communications workers through to the end of 2024 coming out of binding arbitration. The 750-odd workers, represented by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) System Council 11, had agreed to take their dispute with CN to arbitration in early July, ending a 17-day strike. […] Read more

File photo of a BNSF grain train crossing the Gassman Coulee trestle near Minot, North Dakota. (Photo courtesy BNSF Railway)

U.S. railroad strike averted

Biden calls deal a 'win for America;' strike's impact would have reached up into Canada

Updated | Washington | Reuters — Major U.S. railroads and unions secured a tentative deal on Thursday after 20 hours of intense talks brokered by President Joe Biden’s administration to avert a rail shutdown that could have hit food and fuel supplies across the country and beyond. Biden called the deal a “big win for […] Read more

A freight train at Manchac, La., about 75 km east of Baton Rouge. (CN.ca)

U.S. rail embargoes may stymie some Canadian rail traffic

CN halts most cross-border traffic; CP also monitoring situation

Mindful of the potential for snarls on their own tracks, Canada’s big two railways are monitoring talks between a clutch of major U.S. railways and several of their labour unions to avert strikes and/or lockouts that may begin as early as Friday. As of Wednesday, three unions out of the 12 representing unionized rail workers […] Read more


Signage outside an IBEW office in Winnipeg. (File photo by Dave Bedard)

CN signals staff to return to work Wednesday

IBEW, railway to go to binding arbitration

Signals and communications workers at Canadian National Railway (CN) are set to end their 17-day strike and return to work Wednesday morning. CN, in a statement Monday, said the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) System Council 11, which represents about 750 of the company’s employees across the country, had agreed to take its labour […] Read more

File photo of a CN locomotive. (Dave Bedard photo)

CN service continues as signals staff strike

Talks continue after IBEW-represented employees stopped work Saturday

Canadian National Railway is reporting “normal” rail operations after its signals and communications workers walked out on strike starting Saturday. Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), which represents about 750 CN employees across Canada, served the railway with strike notice last Wednesday and started their strike Saturday morning, the company said. IBEW […] Read more

Crews work as Canadian Pacific Railway tracks are suspended above the washed-out Tank Hill underpass of the Trans-Canada Highway after devastating rain storms caused flooding and landslides, northeast of Lytton, B.C. on Nov. 20, 2021. (Photo: B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure handout via Reuters)

Year-end profits up for CN, CP despite lower grain handles

Railways' ledgers weather drought, B.C. disasters

Both of Canada’s big two railways were able to improve their overall gross and net in 2021 over 2020 despite a yield-robbing drought and disastrous track and bridge washouts in southern British Columbia. Canadian National Railway (CN) on Tuesday reported 2021 net income of $4.892 billion on $14.477 billion in gross revenue, up from $3.784 […] Read more


Tracy Robinson. (TCEnergy.com)

CN names new CEO, easing tussle with investor

Former CP executive Tracy Robinson returns to rail

Reuters — Canadian National Railway on Tuesday named industry veteran Tracy Robinson as its new chief executive officer, soothing a months-long tussle with its second-largest shareholder over leadership at the railroad operator. Robinson will replace Jean-Jacques Ruest, who announced his decision to step down from the role in October following investor demands for his exit […] Read more

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

CN over, CP well under 2020-21 grain revenue caps

Railways moved record-level volume during year, CTA says

Coming off a record-level Prairie grain handle, Canadian National Railway’s $1.042 billion in 2020-21 Prairie grain revenue is set to be trimmed by about $2.52 million. The Canadian Transportation Agency on Wednesday released its determination that CN’s 2021-21 Prairie grain revenue of $1,044,909,345 came in $2,399,676 above its maximum revenue entitlement (MRE) for the year. […] Read more