Intermodal Network Update

Network Conditions

Severe cold weather continues to affect Canada from Alberta to Ontario, with the Polar vortex also impacting areas of the USA, including Minneapolis and Chicago. These extreme temperatures are causing slower rail speeds, shorter trains, and increased left behind traffic at terminals.

This weather is expected to persist for several days, resulting in service delays of 48-72 hours throughout the weekend. Traffic moving into and out of Manitoba & Saskatchewan may be limited until temperatures stabilize early next week, helping to prevent further train delays along these routes.

With forecasts showing that temperatures will remain much colder than usual, we advise temporarily adding an extra day to your transit plans over the next 7 days. Also, plan delivery appointments only after loads have left the origin terminal to avoid rebooking. Making these adjustments proactively can help reduce the impact of weather-related restrictions on rail operations.

Monitoring & Communication

The Intermodal Tracing Team will monitor all Bison departures and arrivals and promptly inform Customer Service about any loads affected by delays. Temporary service adjustments will be communicated as needed to minimize disruptions.

Customer Recommendations

• Priority Freight: Please call out as soon as possible.
• Early Loading: If feasible, load shipments one day earlier to expedite ingate and improve departure timing.

Service Alerts by Rail are reporting the following:

• BC – No restrictions

• AB – Level 2

• SK  – Level 3

• MB –  Level 3

• NW ON –  Level 3

• GTA –  Level 2 

• Montreal –  Level 1

• MN – Level 3 Near CAN/US border /St. Paul Area Transition from Level 2 to 1

• IL –   Level 1

What do these levels impact?

• During cold temps, a train’s maximum speed must be reduced by 10-30% when the temperatures drop below – 25C.

• Train Speeds are adjusted incrementally based on temperatures and conditions. 

• These speed decreases can also impact inbound placement when traffic arrives to terminals out of scheduled slot time.

• Cold temps may also restrict footage, which is adjusted in Level 2, 3 & 4 at outbound from terminals. This can increase terminal congestion, impacting operational performance within rail yards.

• Footage reductions would be applied at originating  terminals so terminal congestion could also impact PQ & ON