Thousands of rail commuters in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland are being forced to find alternative transportation after Canada’s two major railways locked out workers in their first-ever simultaneous stoppage.
Passenger rail service in the province’s Interior is also being affected by the stoppage, compounding issues caused by the wildfire in Jasper, Alta.
And it remains unclear when services could resume, despite the federal government sending the dispute to binding arbitration.
The majority of those affected are commuters who use the West Coast Express, a train serving communities between Vancouver and Mission, about 60 kilometres to the east, with stops in the Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows and Coquitlam areas.
On Thursday afternoon, an email from TransLink to CBC News said the service continues to be suspended “until further notice” and confirmed there will be no trains available Thursday or Friday.
The transit provider says it’s providing supplemental bus service during the stoppage.
TransLink says more than 3,000 customers take the West Coast Express each weekday.
The national rail stoppage has left West Coast Express commuters looking for alternatives. CBC’s Yasmine Ghania looks at how passengers are coping with the morning commute.
TransLink said in a statement that the supplemental service operated well Thursday morning, but it doesn’t have figures about how many customers used the existing bus routes.
Trains could start rolling ‘within days’: labour minister
Bargaining between rail workers and Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) broke off shortly before a midnight deadline that left the workers locked out by their employers starting Thursday morning.
The impasse is affecting upwards of 32,000 commuters on rail services in the Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver areas whose lines run on CPKC-owned tracks.
Passenger trains cannot use those lines without traffic controllers, who are now locked out, to dispatch them.
Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon announced Thursday afternoon that he’s sent the dispute to binding arbitration and has ordered operations on both railways to resume as quickly as possible.
Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code allows the government to refer a labour dispute to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to find a solution.
MacKinnon said said he’s directed the board to settle the outstanding terms of the collective agreements and impose final binding arbitration.
Asked repeatedly when he thinks trains will start rolling, the minister said: “Within days.”
TransLink said in its email to CBC News that it is awaiting “further clarity” from CPKC on when trains can operate again.
Rocky Mountaineer cancels runs through Kootenays
In the Interior of B.C., Rocky Mountaineer tourist trains have been cancelled between Kamloops, Banff and Lake Louise in Alberta.
The passenger route takes travellers through the Kootenays, but in an update online, the company says CPKC will not allow them to use its tracks during the stoppage.
In an update posted Thursday afternoon, the company said despite intervention from the federal government ordering work to resume and the parties to submit to binding arbitration, “it is uncertain how long this process will take and how long the current work stoppage will continue.”
It is the second major tourist route the Rocky Mountaineer has had to cancel this summer, with train rides to the township of Jasper on hiatus due to wildfires in the region.
Rocky Mountaineer trains are still able to run between Vancouver and Kamloops and from North Vancouver to Quesnel on tracks run by CN Rail. People who have booked trips through the Kootenays are being provided with motorcoach service, instead, the Rocky Mountaineer says.
Via Rail so far unaffected in B.C.
Farther north, Via Rail says its operations in B.C. remain unaffected. The company runs passenger routes on CN Rail lines between Prince George and Prince Rupert and is able to continue to do so.
However, it has been affected by wildfires in Jasper with all trains between Prince George and Alberta cancelled until further notice.
Via Rail commuter lines that use CPKC tracks in Ontario have been suspended.
Situation ‘unacceptable’: Transit groups
Public transit advocates in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto issued a joint statement saying the stoppage shows rail users are “at the mercy of freight transportation” in Canada.
The statement from Trajectoire Québec, TTCriders and Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders says public transit users are paying for a situation out of their control.
It says the stoppage will encourage more transit riders to use cars to get to work and affect public confidence in the reliability of commuter trains, which they describe as “fragile.”
“This situation is unacceptable in the context of growing congestion and a climate crisis,” the statement says.
The Port of Prince Rupert is home to Canada’s third-largest port, despite being a city of just over 12,000 people. Mayor Herb Pond says the city’s economy is built around supporting the movement of goods and a work stoppage will put many jobs at risk.
‘Another blow to people’s wallets’
The president of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, Bridgitte Anderson, says the rail stoppage, and knock-on effect on the West Coast Express, will add to congestion across the region.
In a statement, she said every day of the stoppage “delivers another blow to people’s wallets” and endangers the livelihoods of business owners and employees.
Fiona Famulak, president of B.C. Chamber of Commerce, said the group is “extremely disappointed” that the rail companies and union haven’t been able to reach a deal.
She says a prolonged stoppage is “untenable,” and it would further damage B.C.’s reputation as a reliable trading partner after job action at western ports last year.
Prince Rupert mayor Herb Pond, whose city of roughly 12,000 people hosts Canada’s third-largest port, said the long-term impact on the local economy could be incredibly damaging.
“If you are not working in one of the terminals, you are certainly neighbours with somebody who works in one of the terminals,” he said in an interview with CBC News.
“The economy of Prince Rupert today is really built around [the port].”
Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. have locked out 9,300 engineers, conductors and yard workers after negotiations with the union fell apart. The stoppage will affect tens of thousands of commuters across the country and could lead to serious economic consequences if prolonged.
Blair Qualey, president and CEO of the New Car Dealers Association of B.C., said his group is now joining other business associations across Canada to call for the federal government to step in to restore the “vital service.”
Otherwise, they would struggle to keep their doors open amid the “very challenging situation.”
Qualey says in the statement that the car dealers are already dealing with “fairly tight” vehicle inventory issues and that a rail strike will “turn the tap off.”
“Previous disputes have had a significant impact on dealers and consumers, and we simply cannot afford a repeat,” said Qualey.