Otterwa Ontario - Class I railroads operating in Canada would be required to report additional performance and staffing metrics under a proposal Canadian regulators unveiled on Friday.
 
Transport Canada's (TC) move was announced on the same day that the Surface Transportation Board (STB) said it will temporarily require the big railroads to provide more detailed operational and staffing metrics amid widespread service problems in the U.S.
 
The U.S. regulations were issued after a two-day hearing last month on rail service issues faced by the four American Class I railroads, BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific, all of which are experiencing shortages of train crews.
 
TC said its proposed amendments to Transportation Information Regulations would "enhance the transparency and competitiveness of the freight rail system."
 
"Having access to more detailed service and performance information for Canada's rail sector would contribute to even more productive exchanges among supply chain members, as they work to move Canadian goods in support of Canada's future economic success," Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in a statement.
 
The proposal would require CN, CP, BNSF, CSX, NS, and UP to provide first and last-mile service metrics, en route trip performance for loaded and empty cars, the number of cars online, locomotive fleet status, including active and stored units, and the number of operating employees available to move trains.
 
The railroads also will be required to provide TC with confidential waybill information.
 
The new metrics will be added to those TC has required since 2018, when it largely adopted the STB's weekly rail performance metrics requirements.
 
They include network metrics such as average train speed, average terminal dwell, weekly average of number of trains holding per day, and the average number of cars not moving in 48 hours or more, as well as weekly grain loadings and order fulfillment for empty grain hoppers.
 
A 60 day public consultation period follows the publication of the proposed amendments to the Transportation Information Regulations in Canada Gazette, Part I.
 
The feedback collected will be considered in the development of the final regulations.
 
Bill Stephens.