By Mary-Jane Bennett, Special to Financial Post; March 20, 2018
Angry farm groups, apologetic railway executives and shippers looking for leverage are the voices of this year’s grain backlog. The crisis began in mid-February, when an extreme cold settled over the Canadian West. Deep colds force trains to run shorter and slower, with three times as many operators. Adding to the problem, Western grain producers harvested one of the biggest crops in the country’s history, creating a surge in demand for rail shipments.
Farmers are now “struggling to pay their bills because their grain isn’t moving,” Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe complained Friday. CN has fired its president and repeatedly apologized for the delays and is mobilizing more cars and new crews “so farmers and grain companies can get their product to market,” said Sean Finn, CN’s executive vice-president, last week.
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