Albertas rail plans

[mcfarms]

SO anybody else think 80 locomotives and 7000 new oil cars may cause an issue or two with getting our grain to market in a couple years, likely going to replace the oil price differential with a grain price differential.

[iceman]

SO anybody else think 80 locomotives and 7000 new oil cars may cause an issue or two with getting our grain to market in a couple years, likely going to replace the oil price differential with a grain price differential.

I’m betting on it will be a nonissue. By the time they show up the production will be down or we will have some pipelines build. This is the equivalent of closing the barn door after the horse left last week. This is really gonna hurt the oil patch this time. I also waiting to hear about the job cuts that will be coming because of this price differential.

[Marusko]

My gut feeling is that this whole plan will flounder for some reason or another, as government 'entrepreneurial' plans often do. Maybe Alberta oil will turn back up, then for whatever reason we don't need these cars anymore and they get sold at a deep discount and we take a loss on the whole thing.

Re: disruption to grain movent, one guy on CBC today was saying it should not be an issue because the oil will be traveling south, while grain goes east or west.

[Taiga]

It will be an issue for sure. No change to the actual rail lines, just adding more traffic to the existing infrastructure.

[beaverdam]

Only at CBC, would they think more oil traveling south, would help the price differential. CBC just wants to comfort it's leftist viewers that somehow, the oil tanker cars won't be traveling through a city near them. For goodness sakes, an NDP premier wouldn't endanger those Canadians living in a large city now would they! ??? lol

If the plan comes to fruition as is, there's bound to be congestion. Remember last time, railways made more money from shipping a car of oil, than a car of grain. So especially if governments are going to own the oil tank cars, grain will be second fiddle.

Maybe now's an opportunity to talk about more rail line to the west coast?

[walterm]

I didn't realize it was shortage of cars and engines that was the issue. Can the rail system handle that much more traffic without taxing other commodities like grain?

[RD414]

CN is twinning parts of Mainline. Have heard Saskatoon to Wainright, also heard Winnipeg to Edmonton and also points further west than that. Preliminary work has started. Survey crew is out.

[bucket]

Is twinning lines to the bottlenecks helpful?

[RD414]

That was my question also bucket, at least going west, and if they are railing oil east, are they just planning to send it south from there. Would it be feasible to follow the grain route to Thunderbay, put it on our new ,rusty grain vessels and then offload to ocean vessels at other end.

[Oliver88]

Re: disruption to grain movent, one guy on CBC today was saying it should not be an issue because the oil will be traveling south, while grain goes east or west.

This can’t be right because this won’t help with the price differential if sending oil to the USA unless it gets to the Gulf of Mexico.
I wouldn’t be surprised this oil all goes to the west coast and will be competing for the railway bottlenecks with our wheat and canola when it’s -10C and CP/CN are using their annual weather excuses.

Oddly enough Nutjob wasn’t in support of the Northern Gateway pipeline that would have helped solve the glut of oil issue.

[TOM4CWB]

SO anybody else think 80 locomotives and 7000 new oil cars may cause an issue or two with getting our grain to market in a couple years, likely going to replace the oil price differential with a grain price differential.

If the Feds had serious intentions... force CN/CP to allow other carriers on our tracks in Canada.