More than 32,000 rail commuters across the country will have to find new routes to the office if a work stoppage kicks off at Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. this week.
Transit authorities say select commuter lines that run on CPKC tracks in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver will be suspended should dispatchers walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Thursday alongside 3,200 other workers.
The railway has said it will lock out employees unless a new contract is reached or the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference agrees to binding arbitration — a path the union has rejected. The Teamsters have also issued a 72-hour strike notice, set to kick in a minute after midnight Thursday.
A phased shutdown of the networks at CPKC and Canadian National Railway Co. is already underway as the clock ticks down on negotiations between both companies and the union. Canadian Pacific barred virtually all new shipments on Tuesday morning, with CN planning to do the same Wednesday.
The commuter lines affected by the potential work stoppage are TransLink’s West Coast Express in the Vancouver area, Metrolinx’s Milton line and Hamilton GO station in the Greater Toronto Area, and Exo’s Candiac, Saint-Jérôme and Vaudreuil/Hudson lines in the Montreal area.
“Without the work of the CPKC rail traffic controllers, our trains on these three lines would be unable to run,” said Exo spokesman Eric Edström in an email in French.
The three Montreal lines account for 21,000 of the impacted daily riders, while the Greater Toronto Area would see about 8,100 customers sidelined, according to the transit agencies. In Metro Vancouver, more than 3,000 passengers take the West Coast Express each day.
TransLink said it will provide customer updates as the situation unfolds. Metrolinx is pointing riders to alternate routes and stations, while Exo said it is working “on the possibility” of alternative bus service.
The impact on commuter lines is limited to routes running on CPKC-owned tracks because dispatchers at CN, which hosts a greater number of passenger trains, are not part of the bargaining process and would not take part in a work stoppage.
The Teamsters represent some 80 CPKC rail traffic controllers negotiating for a contract — distinct from the company’s main group of engineers, conductors, and yard workers.
Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon planned to meet with CN and union representatives in Montreal on Tuesday, and with CPKC and the Teamsters in Calgary on Wednesday.
MacKinnon, who stepped into the minister’s role barely four weeks ago, has repeatedly stressed that the parties must hammer out a deal themselves rather than rely on federal intervention, such as back-to-work legislation.
All sides said this week they remain far apart, with wages and scheduling as key stumbling blocks.
EXO commuter disruptions
Public transit users who take the EXO commuter train lines in Montreal may be impacted if the CN and CPKC strike on Thursday.
According to the EXO, Line 11 (Vaudreuil/Hudson), Line 12 (Saint-Jérôme) and Line 14 (Candiac) will be affected.
“It is important to note that trains running on CN’s network (line 13 – Mont-Saint-Hilaire and line 15 – Mascouche) are not affected and will continue to operate normally, according to CN authorities. CN rail traffic controllers are not among the trades affected by this dispute,” said Edström.
The EXO network is working on setting up alternative bus services that will be provided on their website, on the Chrono app and on the X accounts of the Vaudreuil/Hudson, Saint-Jérôme and Candiac train lines.
“The bus shuttles that will be proposed will not be able to replace the entire service of the three affected train lines, especially during the back-to-school period. We are confident that we will be able to deploy several bus shuttles as early as Monday, August 26. Our efforts will be focused on providing service during rush hour,” explained Edström. “We recommend that impacted customers start thinking about an alternative route using exo’s regular bus service or the STM and STL services. To do so, consult the exo trip planner and uncheck the train option.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 20, 2024.