Vancouver British Columbia - Commuters who use the West Coast Express will have to find new routes to the office if a work stoppage kicks off at Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. this week.
 
Rail lines used by TransLink's West Coast Express are among those that will be affected should dispatchers walk off the job at 21:01 PT on Wednesday alongside 3,200 other workers.
 
The railway has said it will lock out employees unless a new contract is reached or the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) agrees to binding arbitration, a path the union has rejected.
 
The Teamsters have also issued a 72 hour strike notice, which would kick in at the same time (22 Aug 2024, 00:01 EDT).
 
TransLink said it will provide customer updates as the situation unfolds.
 
More than 3,000 passengers take the West Coast Express each day.
 
Nationally, other commuter lines that could be affected by a work stoppage are Metrolinx's Milton line and the Lakeshore line's Hamilton GO station in the Greater Toronto Area, and EXO's Candiac, Saint-Jerome, and Vaudreuil/Hudson lines in the Montreal area.
 
The impact on commuter lines is limited to routes running on CPKC-owned tracks because dispatchers at CN, which hosts a greater number of passenger trains, are not part of the bargaining process, and would not take part in a work stoppage.
 
More About the Dispute
 
A phased shutdown of the networks at both CPKC and CN is already underway as the clock ticks down on negotiations between both companies and the union.
 
CPKC barred virtually all new shipments on Tuesday morning, with CN planning to do the same Wednesday to avoid leaving any goods stranded on the tracks.
 
The Teamsters represent some 80 CPKC rail traffic controllers negotiating for a contract, distinct from the company's main group of engineers, conductors, and yard workers.
 
A shutdown by 9,300 employees at CN and CPKC would be unprecedented, marking the first simultaneous work stoppage at the country's biggest rail companies, experts say.
 
Their trains haul a combined $1 billion worth of goods per day, from canola to consumer electronics, according to the Railway Association of Canada.
 
Already, the U.S.-based CSX and Norfolk Southern railways have closed their gates to most cross-border shipments, while shipping giants such as Hapag-Lloyd have made contingency plans as others reroute cargo.
 
More than 100 industry groups and local chambers of commerce have called on the prime minister for government intervention, warning that key links in the country's supply chain are set to snap.
 
Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon planned to meet with CN and union representatives in Montreal on Tuesday, and with CPKC and the Teamsters in Calgary on Wednesday.
 
MacKinnon, who stepped into the minister's role barely four weeks ago, has repeatedly stressed that the parties must hammer out a deal themselves rather than rely on federal intervention, such as back-to-work legislation.
 
All sides said this week they remain far apart, with wages and scheduling as key stumbling blocks.
 
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