Railroad News

CN yesterday posted "solid" first-quarter 2020 financial and operating results, despite experiencing rail blockades and the start of a global pandemic and recession during the period.

The Class I reported revenue remained flat at CA$3.5 billion during the quarter compared with the year-ago period. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) rose 31 percent to CA$1.42, while adjusted diluted EPS increased 4 percent to CA$1.22, compared with Q1 2019.

CN announced today that it has started calling back most of its employees who were temporarily laid off in Eastern Canada because of protest blockades on its rail lines over the past few weeks.

The employees are being called back to work in the absence of significant blockades on its network over the past four days, CN officials said in a press release.

CN is temporarily laying off about 450 employees in its Eastern Canada operations after canceling more than 400 trains over the past week in response to protest blockades along its rail line, Canadian news media reported yesterday.

The layoffs will affect operational staff, including employees working at Autoport in Eastern Passage, Moncton, Charny and Montreal, according to news reports.

CN officials announced the company supports the decision by Canada's Transport Minister Marc Garneau to amend his Feb. 7 order that restricted the speed of trains hauling dangerous goods on all of the nation's railway networks.

The initial order reduced by at least a third CN's overall network capacity for all trains, even those not carrying dangerous goods, CN officials said in a press release.

CN yesterday announced it has initiated a "disciplined and progressive" shutdown of its operations in Eastern Canada until protest blockades on its lines in Ontario are removed, company officials said in a press release.

The shut down will include stopping and securing all trans-continental trains across its Canadian network, including intercity VIA Rail service. The Metrolinx and Exo commuter-rail services will not be impacted, CN officials said.

CN announced yesterday it will shut down significant parts of its Canadian rail network imminently unless protest blockades on its lines are removed.

The blockades are disrupting passenger-rail travel as well as Canadians' ability to move goods and enable trade, CN officials said in a press release.

The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) union that represents CN's train conductors and yard crews in Canada has ratified collective agreements with the railroad, CN announced late last week.

The three-year agreements are retroactive to July 23, 2019, and provide wage increases and benefit improvements for 3,200 conductors, CN officials said in a press release.

CN's road transportation subsidiary CNTL has selected ISAAC Instruments' telemetry solution to optimize the Class I's road safety efforts on its fleet of more than 1,000 trucks.

The devices are expected to be delivered and installed in the next 30 days, CN officials said in a press release.

CN yesterday announced that fourth-quarter 2019 financial results were affected by an eight-day labor strike and "weak" freight demand, posting decreases in revenue, earnings per share and operating income.

Revenue during the quarter compared with the previous year's quarterly results declined 6 percent to CA$3.6 billion; diluted earnings per share (EPS) fell 22 percent to CA$1.22, adjusted diluted EPS dropped 16 percent to CA$1.25; and operating income and adjusted operating income each tumbled 16 percent to CA1.2 billion and CA$1.25 billion, respectively.

CN announced yesterday that less than a month after an eight-day labor strike ended, the Class I's train movements have recovered to pre-strike ranges.

The strike caused CN's network to run at about 10 percent capacity. Every strike day can cause several days of backlog, requiring time for the network to return to normal operational ranges, CN officials said in a press release.

—Compiled by Michael Popke