Actions proposed to improve freight rail service

Mar. 22, 2011, Winnipeg – The Canadian
government has announced its response to the Rail Freight Service Review. The
review was launched in 2008 to address ongoing issues with rail freight
service, raised by users of the rail supply chain.

The review was conducted in two phases. The
first phase comprised analytical work to achieve a better understanding of the
nature and extent of problems and best practices within the supply chain,
including those experienced by shippers, terminal operators, ports, and vessel
operators, with a focus on railway performance. An independent panel, chaired
by Walter Paszkowski, led the second phase, which included extensive
consultations with stakeholders across the supply chain. The panel’s final report
has been made public.

The government accepts the panel’s
commercial approach and intends to implement the following steps to improve the
performance of the entire rail supply chain:

• Initiate a six-month facilitation process
  with shippers, railways, and other stakeholders to negotiate a template service
  agreement and streamlined commercial dispute resolution process;
• Table a bill to give shippers the right to
  a service agreement to support the commercial measures;
• Establish a Commodity Supply Chain Table,
  involving supply chain partners that ship commodities by rail, to address
  logistical concerns and develop performance metrics to improve competitiveness;
• Lead an in-depth analysis of the grain
  supply chain (Transport Canada, in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food
  Canada) to focus on issues that affect that sector and help identify potential
  solutions.

Click here to read the Rail Freight Service Review final report.