The first trains have rolled into
CP cars loaded with Prairie grain and fuel chugged into the port city this morning after limited service resumed on washed-out tracks.
The Calgary-based company said its rail corridor sustained damage in some 30 locations between
"The coming days are going to be critical to bring the entire supply chain back into sync," spokeswoman
Hundreds of employees and contractors have been working around the clock to repair rail lines after torrential rains and mudslides swallowed streets and devastated highways, tossing aside CP railcars and at least one locomotive along the
East of
Starting
"Repair work continues to progress on CN’s network and we anticipate to have trains moving on the line between
November is a critical time for shipment of grain — canola in particular — with the bulk of Canadian grain transported via rail to B.C. ports.
Some can be diverted to
Contract extension penalties and demurrage fees — issued by a shipping line when freight exceeds the time allotted at a terminal — present a threat for farmers and grain elevators trying to clear out brimming barns and silos.
The backlog of Prairie grain may lose much of its value if trains can't ship it to port before spring, when prices typically drop amid heightened global supply, according to the
“The track may be open, but they're still not you carrying the volume they did in the past," he said of
Stretches of the corridors operated by CP and CN hug the
"You had river bed erosion from flooding that created these spaces … so you were literally building on flood planes. You’re building on risky territories when you do that," Gradek said.
"There may be a need to go back and review the topography of those tracks to understand what kind of infrastructure we can design or build to protect from landslides."
This report by
Companies in this story: (TSX:CP, TSX:CNR)
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