More than 32,000 rail commuters across the country will have to find new routes to work if a work stoppage is called this week at Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC).
Transit authorities said some commuter train lines that run on CPKC tracks in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver will be suspended if dispatchers walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. Thursday along with 3,200 other staff.
The railway company said it would lock out its employees unless a new contract is reached or the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference agrees to binding arbitration – an option the union has rejected. The Teamsters also issued a 72-hour strike notice, which would take effect at the same time.
A phased shutdown of the CPKC and Canadian National Railway (CN) networks is already underway as time runs out in negotiations between the two companies and the union. Canadian Pacific banned virtually all new shipments Tuesday morning, and CN plans to do the same Wednesday to avoid leaving freight stranded on the tracks.
Affected cities
Transit routes that would be affected by a work stoppage include Exo’s Candiac, Saint-Jérôme and Vaudreuil/Hudson lines in the Montreal area, TransLink’s West Coast Express in the Vancouver area, Metrolinx’s Milton line and Hamilton GO Station on the Lakeshore line in the Greater Toronto Area.
“Without the work of CPKC rail traffic controllers, our trains on these three lines would be unable to operate,” Exo spokesman Eric Edström said in an email.
“The bus shuttles that will be offered will not be able to compensate for the entire service of the three affected train lines, especially in the middle of the school year,” added the spokesperson.
Exo said it was confident “it will be able to deploy a certain number of coach shuttles from Monday, August 26.” “Our efforts will focus on ensuring the service during peak periods,” it was indicated.
Montreal’s three lines account for 21,000 of the affected daily riders, while the Toronto area would see about 8,100 customers sidelined, according to transit agencies. In Metro Vancouver, more than 3,000 passengers take the West Coast Express each day.
Impact limited to CPKC channels
TransLink said it will provide updates to customers as the situation evolves. Metrolinx is directing Toronto-area riders to alternate routes and stations, while Exo said it is “currently working on alternative bus service options.”
The impact on commuter lines is limited to routes operating on CPKC-owned tracks, as CN dispatchers, which handle a greater number of passenger trains, are not part of the bargaining process and would not be involved in any work stoppage.
The Teamsters union represents about 80 CPKC rail traffic controllers who are negotiating a contract — separate from the main group of engineers, conductors and yard workers.
A work stoppage of 9,300 employees at CN and CPKC would be unprecedented, marking the first simultaneous work stoppage at the country’s largest railways, experts say. Their trains together carry a combined $1 billion worth of goods a day, from canola to electronics, according to the Railway Association of Canada.