Most versatile: Canadian National U-class 4-8-4 locomotives

Canadian National U-class 4-8-4 locomotives coming off lift bridge

Canadian National U-class 4-8-4 locomotives proved to be the most versatile of the type operated in North America.   It’s generally accepted that the ultimate in steam power was the 4-8-4 Northern type, if defined by criteria that includes speed, power, technology, and, perhaps most importantly, versatility. A lot of railroads capped off the steam […]

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CN, logistics, shipping firms to open new Calgary transload facility

Canadian National logo

CALGARY — Canadian National, logistics firm Kaptan and Montship Inc., Canada’s largest steamship agency, have announced plans for an intermodal transload facility to be built in CN’s Calgary Logistics Park. The facility, announced Monday, is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2024. It will provide a location to transload imports into 53-foot […]

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Canada’s Auditor General says VIA Rail, transportation agencies must do more to address barriers for those with disabilities

Mock-up of passenger car interior with wooden car seats

OTTAWA — A report from Canada’s auditor general says VIA Rail Canada and federal agencies have taken steps to address barriers by travelers with disabilities, but additional work will be required to achieve the government’s goal of barrier-free travel. “While we found progress in some areas, many barriers remained,” Auditor General Karen said in a […]

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Letters of opposition trigger hearing on Lac-Mégantic land acquisitions

Map of Lac-Megantic Bypass

MONTREAL — A coalition opposed to construction of the Lac-Mégantic rail bypass has delivered almost 1,500 letters contesting the Canadian government’s expropriation of land for the project to the agency in charge of the process. The French-language newspaper La Presse Canadienne initially reported the protest in an article published in English by the Montreal Gazette. […]

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VIA Rail Canada says it will work with Muslim organization to improve diversity training

VIA Rail Canada logo

OTTAWA, Ontario — VIA Rail Canada says it will work with the National Council of Canadian Muslims to improve its diversity training following an incident in which a Muslim man was told by a security guard not to pray at VIA’s Ottawa station. In a press release, the passenger operator said it had met with […]

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Failure of soft subgrade led to 2020 CP grain train derailment, TSB says in accident report

Aerial photograph of derailment

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — A track subgrade consisting of soft, saturated peat with poor drainage likely led to a sudden failure of that subgrade, triggering a derailment of 53 cars of a Canadian Pacific grain train near Ignace, Ontario, in May 2020, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada indicated in an accident report released Tuesday. Operating […]

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VIA Rail Canada apologizes after Muslim man told not to pray at Ottawa station

Interior of railroad station showing raps and doorway

OTTAWA, Ontario — VIA Rail Canada has apologized to a Muslim man and “the entire Muslim community” after an incident Monday in which the man was told he could not pray at the station in Canada’s capital city. CTV News reports that the Toronto man was waiting for a delayed bus. He told the news organization […]

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‘Adirondack’ tickets now on sale for service beginning April 3

Train approaches station in snow-covered landscape

NEW YORK — Following intense pressure from New York politicians, Amtrak has started selling tickets for travel on the New York-Montreal Adirondack, which will resume operation April 3 northbound and April 4 southbound. Ticket sales began Monday, March 20. It is the last route to be reinstated following widespread suspensions that took place in March […]

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Canadian National, Unifor reach tentative contract agreements

Logo of Canadian union Unifor

MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway and two Unifor unions, Local 100 and Council 4000, have reached tentative agreements, the railroad and Unifor announced Monday, averting a possible strike. The agreements cover approximately 3,000 CN employees in mechanical, intermodal, facility management, and clerical positions across Canada, the railroad said. Local 100 represents the mechanical workers and […]

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Canadian government to provide $23 million for expansion of transload facility

Industrial facility with hopper cars and containers

SURREY, British Columbia — The Canadian government will provide up to C$23 million in funding to expand an agricultural shipping terminal near the U.S. border, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced Friday. Money provided from the National Trade Corridors Fund will expand rail capacity at Global Agricultural Trans-Loading in Surrey, B.C., by helping to pay for […]

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CP, Canadian maintenance workers reach contract agreement

Canadian Pacific Railway beaver logo

CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific has reached a tentative agreement with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Maintenance-of-Way Employees Division, the railroad said today (March 17). The new contract will cover approximately 2,600 workers. Details will not be released until the agreement is ratified. “By working collaboratively with our valued union partners, we’ve reached another negotiated […]

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Canadian government to help fund Winnipeg-area rail industrial park

Aerial illustration of planned rail-served industrial park near Winnipeg, Canada

ROSSER, Manitoba — The Canadian government will contribute up to C$18 million toward development of a rail-served industrial park near Winnipeg, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced Wednesday. Funds for the CentrePort Canada project will help pay for an additional switch connecting to the adjacent Canadian Pacific main line, several kilometers of track within the park, […]

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