Disruptions to major commuter lines continue amid railway labour dispute

Thousands of Canadian commuters were forced to find alternatives to their destinations for a second day on Friday as a labour dispute at two of Canada’s major railways continued to disrupt some train services in three major cities.

Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. locked out more than 9,000 workers on Thursday morning, triggering a national work stoppage that affected freight traffic as well as 30,000 commuters in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

On Thursday evening, the federal government asked the Canadian labour board for binding arbitration to resolve the dispute between the Teamsters union and the companies.

CN said Thursday evening it had ended its lockout and initiated a recovery plan. Its trains began to move again Friday morning even as the Teamsters union issued a 72-hour strike notice against CN on Friday morning.

At CPKC, operations remain suspended as the union said they have challenged the directive for binding arbitration.

The commuters affected by the labour dispute use trains running on CPKC-owned lines, and the timeline for when those routes would resume was unclear Friday.

The agency responsible for GO Transit in Ontario said Thursday evening that there would be no service Friday on its Milton line and the Hamilton GO Station, affecting some 8,100 riders.

On Friday, the agency said it would continue to keep customers updated on the situation.

“For next week, we will communicate service impacts to our customers as more information becomes available,” spokeswoman Andrea Ernesaks wrote in an email.

Ernesaks noted that there is normally no weekend service on the Milton line or at Hamilton GO station, as they are weekday commuter services.

Meanwhile, Via Rail said trains on its 480-kilometre Sudbury-White River line, which runs three times a week in northern Ontario, were cancelled until the work stoppage is resolved.

In British Columbia, the commuter train between Vancouver and Mission, B.C., has been unable to operate since Wednesday night.

An advisory from transportation provider TransLink said the province’s West Coast Express remains suspended until CPKC gives the green light.

Meanwhile, Montreal commuter service Exo had suspended service on the Vaudreuil-Hudson, Saint-Jérôme and Candiac lines, all of which use tracks also owned by CPKC.

Exo spokeswoman Catherine Maurice said the time frame for resumption of services remains unknown.

“We are awaiting instructions from the CPKC, the owner of the railway lines on which we are unable to operate trains, before deciding on the terms and timing of the resumption of commuter train service,” Maurice said in an emailed statement.

Exo said it will have some buses for customers up and running by Monday, but warned it won’t have enough to fully replace the suspended train service because of “limited financial and operational capacity.” The three lines carry some 21,000 passengers a day.

Exo’s two train lines that run on the CN network have not been shut down because its rail traffic controllers are not part of the lockout.

On Friday morning, Jean-Daniel Tardif, senior director of dispute resolution services at the Canada Industrial Relations Board, said they’re addressing the labour minister’s referrals for binding arbitration and a back-to-work order “with utmost urgency.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 23, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CNR, TSX:CP)

Rianna Lim, The Canadian Press