The government of Canada is investing up to C$23 million in Global Agricultural Trans-Loading’s (GATL) rail infrastructure and capacity improvement project at its CN-served facility in Surrey, British Columbia.
The government of Canada is allocating funding to a rail park in the Winnipeg, Manitoba, metro region, and for a Port of Nanaimo (British Columbia) study in an effort to boost supply
Union Pacific (UP) finalizes contracts for four hybrid cranes to test in its intermodal yards. Also, the government of Canada is investing up to C$12.5 million in an infrastructure project at the CN-served Port of Belledune in New Brunswick; and intermodal services firm Western IntermodeX acquires Quickload Logistics to boost import transload capacity in Prince Rupert, British Columbia.
Transport Canada is committing up to C$50 million for projects that improve asset and operations management, coordination, planning, and optimization of supply chains to help alleviate bottlenecks and boost network fluidity and resilience, the department reported Feb. 13.
With the release of investigation documents surrounding a 2019 accident in which a GO Transit train struck two people at a public crossing in Ontario, officials from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are expressing concerns about the safety oversight of provincially regulated railways.
Nearly a decade after the horrific derailment of a crude oil unit train at Lac-Mégantic, Quebec that claimed 47 lives and led to new regulations for railroad hazmat tank cars, Canada Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra on Jan. 14 announced that building a 12.5-km (7.75-mile) bypass to get trains out of downtown Lac-Mégantic “remains a priority.” While the government has signed agreements to acquire some of the land for the project, he said, it has decided not to extend the “mutual negotiation period” with the remaining impacted owners after doing so three times, so that the project can move forward.
Genesee & Wyoming Canada’s Huron Central Railway Inc. (HCRY) will receive a total of C$21 million for infrastructure rehabilitation from the governments of Canada and Ontario, which announced their investment on Jan. 10. The 173-mile short line in Northern Ontario will contribute C$10.5 million to the work.
The government of Canada announced amendments to the Transportation Information Regulations to increase supply chain transparency and “create a better understanding of the performance of Canada’s freight rail sector for the benefit of all rail users,” Transport Canada reported Jan. 9.
The government of Canada announced a new rail safety funding program called the Program to Enhance Rail Safety Engagement to “encourage Indigenous and local communities to participate in rail safety initiatives in Canada,” as well as a Call for Proposals for the program, with up to $1.6 million in funding, open now until February 16, 2023, Transport Canada reported Dec. 15.
Transport Canada has launched its first climate change-focused call for proposals to help ensure “railway infrastructure is resilient to extreme weather events.”
