Grainswest - Fall 2022

Fall 2022 grainswest.com 35 The capacity issue isn’t really about the number of railcars that can traverse a given piece of track, said Hemmes. Rather, the challenge is co-ordination and timing. “Rail capacity is something of a black art. It’s got to be the proper mix of the right number of crews, of cars and the way they flow the trains into the terminal. In the last couple of years, the grain industry has wanted to put more traffic through Prince Rupert but, unfortunately, that capacity isn’t available.” Like Friesen, Hemmes gives CN credit for its financial investment in increased capacity through new sidings and improved signals, he also believes the railway faces a challenging time given the expected dramatic increase in crop yield over that of last year. “I do think we’re heading into a pretty difficult year.” Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association, agreed and framed the problem in starker terms. Though he conceded circumstances in 2021, such as the B.C. floods, were beyond the control of the railways, he said CN and CP, though CP doesn’t service Prince Rupert, lacked resiliency and service was slow to recover during the winter. He worries staff reductions last year may not have been brought back in sufficient number to handle the increased load. “We are very concerned about rail capacity in all corridors, frankly,” he said. “If the railways couldn’t serve us last year, what confidence do we have they’ll serve us this year?” Inadequate rail capacity is a key reason the Port of Prince Rupert received a very low ranking on the World Bank’s 2021 Container Port Performance Index. The annual ranking compares operational performance, efficiency, access, oversight, co-ordination, predictability and reliability of the world’s major container ports. Of the 370 ranked, Prince Rupert placed 344. At 368, Vancouver landed in the bottom three with Long Beach and Los Angeles. Ultimately, rail capacity frustrations at the ports impact farmers. “Grain companies sell based on what they think they’re going to get for rail capacity, so accurate information from the railways on what they’re going to supply is very, very important,” said Sobkowich. “Shipping failures get reflected in the basis and reflected in prices to farmers.” Smooth shipping is more critical on a global basis than ever, given lost grain production and movement capacity in Ukraine. “It’s a really important year for Canada to be able to actively participate in the global grain system,” said Hemmes. “Obviously, Canada can’t make up for what’s lost there, but we can sure contribute. If we don’t have an adequate logistics system in place that’s going to be able to let us do that, the world is going to be in a worse place.” A PROVEN TRADE LINK Rail access troubles aside, the Port has proven its capacity as a market conduit for Canadian crops for more than three decades. It operated at full capacity through the stress and uncertainty of the pandemic, thanks to the commitment of its staff as well as longshore, terminal and marine workers, said the PRGT’s Jason Fletcher. “They weren’t classified as essential workers, but they very much were. Those terminals never stopped. They ran 24/7 all the way through. That shows the resiliency of the operation and of the people. As an exporting nation, that is just critical.” Served by Canada's most northerly rail line, the Port of Prince Rupert ranks third in shipped grain tonnage behind sister ports in Vancouver and Thunder Bay.