what is the bottleneck in rail transport

[seldomseen]

I think that port could make Western Canada a different place in a good way.


Grain will only go where certain people can make money off of it and none of those people are in Churchill!

[wmoebis]

There are grain companies that are against it.

Why would grain companies want to use it when they have their own terminals at other ports? I was well established that Churchill would be a casualty with the demise of the CWB.

[westernvicki]

We live on the northern oil line, where traffic wants to go both ways, & oil traffic appears to out number grain. From what I see no by pass lanes have been built to allow the maximum use of the directional traffic. On our line there is an old short side track that has been there forever most of the time it sits full of cars, but the track length is much shorter that the size of the trains that regularly pass on this line. Had they simply extended this track two trains could have met & bypassed efficiently. Cars are backed up all over. What I see is a total failure to strategically invest in expansion capacity, to facilitate the increased traffic headed in various directions. And so it is like a farm expanding size and using the same equipment, same crews. If the railway were a farm, the comparable analysis would be expand the farm, but do not expand the infrastructure accordingly, including man power. I believe had they invested strategically in rail, to adapt to the additional bidirectional traffic the railway could have earned much more revenue, instead agriculture was sacrificed, and the revenue left in the fields of farmers and is also less revenue to railway shareholders. Inefficiency due to failure to invest in capacity means that potential revenue capacity is not realized. Failure to invest and plan strategically. Board of directors should all retire.

[bucket]

Where is trend line analysis of our exports that would have indicated our infrastructure isn't ready to handle our exports.....although it doesn't seem like it would take a rocket scientist to figure it out....

Although we have an astronaut for a transport minister and he can't figure it out....

[farmaholic]

Where is trend line analysis of our exports that would have indicated our infrastructure isn't ready to handle our exports.....although it doesn't seem like it would take a rocket scientist to figure it out....

Although we have an astronaut for a transport minister and he can't figure it out....

LOL......****en guy!

[grassfarmer]

There are grain companies that are against it.

I think that port could make Western Canada a different place in a good way. Grain will only go where certain people can make money off of it and none of those people are in Churchill!

Why would grain companies want to use it when they have their own terminals at other ports? I was well established that Churchill would be a casualty with the demise of the CWB.

Sounds much the same as the ranchers battle during BSE. Trying desperately to get outlets for beef off this continent but it wasn't to be. The Government acted with the packers and against cattlemen to ensure beef remained captive on this continent to be bought by the 2 companies that process over 90% of the kill at the price that suited them, with no competition. Tell me how the grain situation is shaping up any different......and are you still sure the railways are to blame?

[sawfly1]

it is a monopoly , railroads get to handle it all , no matter how long it takes.
grain. cos get to handle it all no matter how long it takes .

and the longer it takes only improves , both their profitability.

they are not paying the cost.
guess who is?

do we actually . have a time of excess rail capacity at any time ? seeding ?
storage at the coast would not help if we don't .

if we are only filling 60% of orders now, what good are all the new terminals going to do?
every one gets less cars.
pretty bad when the only solution is a big drought.

whatever happens

no more , money for nothing.

full compensatory rates were supposed to fix the problem.
they never did.
oh ya we will have incentive to invest, bull , maybe in the states

Don't get fooled again.

[Crazyharrows]

simple soultion here boys,northwest passage will be ice free year around in next ten years.Build that track to Churchill have massive grain port there haul grain there during the winter fill ships during the summer.Have ships coming in with food ,lumber what ever else the people of the north need.no reason why there can't be a massive deep sea port there. How much money you think gov. Spends on freight to get goods there ? People of the north wont have to pay ten dollars for gallon of milk anymore there goods would drop in price,no need to fly goods in then.Then we don't have to depend on west coast to get our grain moving. There is the soultion need the sask. And manintoba goverments get this built.Ha shit boys I was haveing a dream!

[sumdumguy]

Then why are the graincos not in front of mps explaining it....why are farmers having to do the bitching?

Because the more backed-up the system, the cheaper they get the grain. Maybe.