Train movements in Canada close to normal after labor turmoil

Train movements at Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. are almost back to normal after a short lockout of unionized workers, according to RailState, a provider of real-time rail data.

Canadian National train movements were at 96% of pre-lockout levels as of Tuesday, while Canadian Pacific was at 95%, RailState said. The two railways came to a halt Aug. 22 in Canada due to a labor dispute with more than 9,000 workers represented by the Teamsters union. 

The federal government stepped in the same day, sending the dispute to the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The labor body released a decision Saturday evening that ordered the railways to resume normal operations and prevented workers from striking this week. 

Canadian National had already started its return to service on Friday, while Canadian Pacific workers returned to the job Monday. 

The data doesn’t necessarily indicate that the volumes of goods shipped are close to normal. Train movements are indications of trains in motion, including those with empty cars; the figures don’t provide information on the loads being transported. RailState based its average daily volume on train movements between Aug. 1 and Aug. 21.

“Our recovery plan is underway,” CN Railway said in an emailed statement. “We expect complete recovery to take several weeks to catch up the impact that supply chains have been dealing with since April.” CPKC did not provide any details on operating levels.

The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, the workers’ union, says its lawyers are still working on a legal appeal of the labor board’s decision.