If no deal is reached between the union representing railway workers and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), and Canadian National Rail (CNR), the West Coast Express commuter rail service in the Lower Mainland will not be able to operate.
Their members could walk off the job after 12:01 am ET on Thursday, August 22, 2024 (9:01 pm PT on Wednesday, August 21).
In a bulletin posted today in preparation for the potential labour action, TransLink reiterated that it will not be able to run the West Coast Express, as the commuter rail service runs on tracks owned and operated by CPKC. The service cannot operate without CPKC’s dispatchers and rail workers.
“The West Coast Express service outage would be indefinite until the CPKC lockout ends,” reads the bulletin.
But TransLink has indicated that it plans to deploy additional bus services to mitigate the service impacts for passengers.
These are the alternative bus service options outlined by the public transit authority:
- Mission City or Port Haney stations:
- Supplemental bus service is being provided to connect customers to and from SkyTrain at Coquitlam Central Station.
- This supplemental bus service will leave from Mission City Station in the morning at 5:25, 5:55, 6:25, 6:55, and 7:25 am.
- Buses will then leave from Port Haney Station at approximately 5:53, 6:23, 6:53, 7:23, and 7:53 am. Times may vary depending on traffic.
- In the afternoon, the return buses will leave from Coquitlam Central Station at 4:50, 5:20, 5:50, 6:30, and 7:20 pm.
- Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, or Maple Meadows stations:
- The R3 RapidBus, Route 701, or 791 are the best alternatives to connect to SkyTrain at Coquitlam Central Station.
- Customers at Port Coquitlam Station could also take routes 159, 160, 173, 174, or 175 to connect with SkyTrain.
- Port Moody or Coquitlam Central stations:
- Taking the Millennium Line and transferring to the Expo Line at Commercial–Broadway Station is the best alternative.
The West Coast Express currently sees about 3,000 customers each day for its weekday-only operations. This peak-direction, peak-hour service reaching downtown Vancouver is particularly impacted by semi-office remote work, with ridership recovery lagging behind other TransLink services.
The historic shutdown of Canada’s freight railways will also similarly impact the commuter rail services of the Go Train in Greater Toronto and the Exo in Greater Montreal.
It will impact billions of dollars worth of daily international trade and supply chain movements across the country, and congest the major ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, and Montreal.
The union representing nearly 10,000 rail workers says it aims to improve wages and working conditions and win flexibility for workers who are managing fatigue.
CNR says it has offered raises of about 30%, which would bring the average salary of a CNR conductor to $157,300, and the average salary of an engineer to $195,000.