20 THE CAAR COMMUNICATOR WINTER PLANS Mexico, it will enter the US via Eagle Pass, Texas, and then follow a central eastern route through Chicago and Detroit. From Detroit, it will enter Canada and head east towards Toronto, Montreal, and Moncton before terminating in Halifax. Via the Chicago hub, Falcon Premium will enter Canada into Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton (and a spur line off-shooting to Calgary), and into BC, where it splits into two lines—to a Vancouver hub and one farther north in Prince George. Railing Against the Rails Despite the triple-country accessibility now more easily afforded by both CN and CPKC, we should note that they are still beholden to fickle weather and other sources beyond their control. For example, since train rails are made from steel, they expand as it gets hotter, which can lead to rail curvature (aka buckling, aka sun-kinking). However, the rails are now being manufactured using metal alloys that are not as easily affected by the sun, but still, some older rails could be prone to sun-kinking, though we’d wager the Big-2 are ensuring that is not the case. While trains can still travel on sun-kinked rails, provided they aren’t too badly warped, the entire train must pass over them at a reduced rate of speed, which means longer trips and delays. A longer trip for a passenger train will delay the rail usage of a freight train, which must also reduce its speed. And, unless remedied, the sun-kinked will only get worse. Warped rails can be immediately corrected by shimming. Later, when it thaws, machine surfacing and lining the rail will provide a more lasting solution. There’s also the rail issue seen after a wet autumn that is followed by a quick drop in temperature. When this happens, it can freeze the precipitation between the ballast (the stone bed between the ties that support the rails). Now, if the rain freezes between the stones, it can force the rails to shift when the ice thaws. See? It’s not incompetence, but rather a confounding Mother Nature. In 2020, new train speeds based on temperatures were introduced in Canada. Now train speed restrictions are based on how cold it is, instead of the old way of restricting a train’s speed based on a winter date range—as long as a railway’s winter operations plan is set up according to the order’s specifications. The speed rule, introduced by then-Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau, “takes into account that different regions of the country can experience very different temperature ranges on any given day.” It considers the wide range of temperatures that could hit anywhere in Canada outside the November 15 to March 15 period in which the previous speed limit order was to be in effect. Although this dosn’t affect the agriculture sector, it still does. The railway speed limits were placed to prevent speeding during especially cold times by trains carrying more hazardous cargo, such as fuel, which every farm needs. Below -40°C, CN stops its night operations to ensure the safety of its employees as well as to reduce the risk of derailment. It will also reduce the length of cars being transported to ensure a faster stop during colder weather. But that’s just the weather. What else is there that could be a hindrance to the trains running on time? Strikes and Other Labour Issues How about strikes? Although CN released its 2023–2024 Winter Plan almost two weeks before the week-long St. Lawrence Seaway strike, we can be sure that the plan did not have a contingency for that event. Neither did it have one for the 13-day BC dock workers strike, except to work faster and harder to try and make up for lost time. Except it can only move as fast as the rail traffic and Canadian federal laws will allow. The 2023–2024 Winter Contingency report from CPKC also discussed proposed Canadian legislation that, if passed, will prohibit the use of replacement workers during a strike. The CPKC report reads: “The federal government has committed to [introducing] legislation by the end of 2023 to prohibit the use of replacement workers during a strike or lockout. “If implemented, such a policy will incentivize more frequent labour disruptions in the federally regulated transportation sector, undermining the reliability of Canada’s supply chains. “This policy risks damaging Canada’s national economy and international reputation as a reliable trading partner. Freight transportation is vital to the supply chains that are integral to the day-to-day lives of Canadians.” It appears as though the CPKC is implying that if businesses are not allowed to find additional people to do work while there is a strike, it’s just going to
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