Recent legislation has raised the stakes in a decade-long battle between the railways and Canadian grain shippers over the interswitching radius. Interswitching refers to a regulation to ensure shippers located […] Read more
Tag Archives interswitching

Preview: Railways, grain shippers at loggerheads over interswitching
Pilot to test expanded radius deemed unnecessary by both sides

Rail interswitching expansion pilot clears Parliament
Grain handlers to press for plan to be made permanent
Last week’s passage of the 2023 federal budget starts a 90-day countdown toward an 18-month test of expanded interswitching on railways in the three Prairie provinces. Bill C-47, the government’s […] Read more

Go bigger on interswitching pilot, grain groups urge Ottawa
Railways say the measure creates inefficiencies; farm groups say the opposite is true
Farm groups from across the country are asking producers to lobby federal ministers and MPs and urge them to super-size a government proposal for what’s called ‘extended interswitching.’ The measure, […] Read more

Railways push back on feds’ proposed interswitching revival
Railways also oppose ban on replacement workers
With Easter less than two weeks away, an Easter egg in the federal government’s 2023 budget calls for a new pilot program to again provide Prairie grain shippers with extended […] Read more

Railways say they’re ready for large shipping season
CNS Canada — Canadian Pacific Railway managed to slightly increase its grain shipping volumes last year, despite the extreme cold. CP moved 25.8 million tonnes of western Canadian grain, grain […] Read more

Grain elevators brace for high-volume shipping season
CNS Canada — Grain companies in Western Canada are bracing for another high-volume year, as questions about the system’s ability to handle that amount continue to plague the industry. Wade […] Read more

Federal rail freight legislation clears Senate
Canada’s Senate has passed federal legislation that grain grower groups have hoped will help improve rail freight service for the sector this year. Bill C-49, the Transportation Modernization Act, passed […] Read more

Senate hands back transport bill, with changes
Federal legislation sought by farm groups wanting improvements to rail service for the grain sector is on its way back from the Senate to the House of Commons. Senators on […] Read more

Farmers seek ‘urgent’ action from Senate on rail service
Groups representing Canadian grain growers touched down in Ottawa Thursday to urge quick passage of legislation to avoid a sequel to the grain handling logjam of 2013-14. Representatives from the […] Read more

Mixed reactions from farm groups to Bill C-49 progress
Commodity News Service Canada – Western Canadian producer groups support changes to rail transportation in Canada but vary on support of the latest legislation, Bill C-49. Bill C-49 passed its […] Read more