J.R. Patterson is a writer based in Gladstone, Man.
Amid the honking, blaring music and deranged “Memorandum of Understanding” of the so-called freedom convoy, a group of disaffected truckers have raised a vital question about infrastructure in Canada.
Their call to get the country “back on track” was poignant, but only in the plural: We need our system for the movement of goods to get back on the tracks, as it were, by investing in our railways and moving more goods via train.
Early on in the convoy saga, news of truckers sidelined by vaccine mandates was seized upon by political opportunists who warned of empty grocery-store shelves. At first, it was fear-mongering since 85 per cent of truck drivers were already vaccinated and traffic flow continued as normal. Then, a trucker blockade at the Ambassador Bridge snarled supply chains for both the food and automotive industries at a crucial land border crossing.
It was a reminder that we have become over-reliant on these vehicles to keep our economy running. Long-haul transport trucks might appear vital to our infrastructure, but just as the automobile reshaped the North American way of life, our dependence on trucks is really a consequence of being accustomed to living in a system that accommodates them.
Instead, we should pivot to nationalizing and sustainably expanding our railways into a network that connects the country fully and efficiently. This would require a fundamental reevaluation of how we invest in our transportation systems, but the benefits would be worth the cost.
With the average freight train numbering 120 railcars in Canada, a single train often carries the freight of several hundred semi-trailer trucks (the average freight train carried more than 9,100 tonnes in 2020, according to the Railway Association of Canada). Moving goods by rail would reduce highway traffic and congestion, and could solve the trucking industry’s driver-shortage problem.
On the question of whether expanding our railways makes sense for Canada, we must consider the experience of Russia – the only country with a land mass greater than our own, and one that has surpassed us in terms of an effective national-transportation system.
Russia’s first rail line was laid in 1837 – Canada’s in 1836. By 1885, when its “last spike” was hammered down, our transcontinental railroad was the envy of the world: the longest ever built, an incredible feat of engineering and vision (and sacrifice by those who built it). But after 137 years, we’ve failed our early aspirations. In 2019, while 330 million tonnes of freight were hauled on 46,000 kilometres of Canadian rails, Russian trains hauled roughly four times that amount on 85,000 kilometres of track.
Aside from simply increasing its haulage, sustainability would be a key element in reinvigorating Canada’s rail network. While Canadian Pacific Railway, Canadian National Railway and Via Rail are all in the process of introducing electric or hybrid trains to their fleets, electrified railways only account for a small slice of the tracks in Canada (in Russia, meanwhile, more than half the railways are electrified). If it’s powered by sustainable sources, studies from the U.K., Germany, and the International Energy Agency suggest that rail transport has the potential to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions. To invest seriously and smartly in both its rail infrastructure and climate goals, Canada must prioritize the replacement of diesel-fuelled trains (which are the majority in North America) with electric and high-speed alternatives.
A well-veined and sustainably powered rail system could also reconnect isolated parts of Canada to essential services. If more rural stations were reintroduced, for example, trains could bolster the woeful lack of public transportation in less-populated parts of Canada, and better connect West to East. Though Via Rail’s service on Western routes doesn’t have a great record of arriving on time – I’ve experienced these delays firsthand – there is little reason for either passengers or freight to be delayed if we built a rail system more complex than a single-track road.
Expanding our national railway system to meet that demand could also provide secure, government-pensioned work, with thousands of kilometres of track requiring upkeep. Even still, a functioning rail network won’t ever put the trucking industry out of business; door-to-door service will always be a necessity, particularly in remote areas.
Canadians also shouldn’t have to rely as heavily on the private sector to deliver better transport services. When Manitoba’s Hudson Bay Railway line was washed out in 2017, Omnitrax, the Denver-based owner of the line, declined to foot the repair bills. Churchill, Man., and other northern communities were left with no land exit for 18 months while the provincial and federal governments passed the buck. Repairs were finally taken up by Arctic Gateway Group (now OneNorth), a partnership of local government and Indigenous groups. In 2021, OneNorth received a federal injection of $40-million for rail repairs – a lame-duck ending that only amplified the ridiculousness of the rail line remaining privatized. A publicly-owned rail line for these remote communities would alleviate any concerns about future repairs – it would be a matter of public responsibility, not shareholder capitulation.
Geographical disconnection is Canada’s greatest challenge. Just as our size can be our strength, when we lose the “public” in public infrastructure, it can also become our weakness. The highways have not solved this dilemma, but the railroad might, if given another chance. What’s old is new again – let’s get back on the tracks.
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