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More Job Cutting at CP:

The January 21st, 2016 issue of the Toronto Star reported Canadian Pacific will be cutting 1000 jobs through attrition. Given the weak economy has resulted in a drop in demand for commodity shipments, Canadian Pacific Railway said it plans to cut another 1,000 jobs this year.

CP CEO E. Hunter Harrison made the announcement during a conference call with analysts on Thursday, after reporting fourth-quarter earnings that were strong, but still fell short of analyst forecasts...  Harrison took over the top job at the Calgary-based railway after a bitter proxy fight in 2012. He estimated that "6,000 to 7,000 jobs" have been eliminated to date, mostly through attrition. At the end of 2015, CP had about 13,000 employees.

Harrison also boasted that the promises made during the proxy fight have been achieved, including getting to an operating ratio of 65 per cent by 2016

 CP Fourth Quarter Report: 

On the January 21st, 2016, on a CP 2015 4th Quarter Conference Call;  CP President and Chief Operating Officer Keith Creel noted that the company has over 600 locomotives in storage.  While operating metrics were improved across the board, revenue was down from the previous year and that sparked a selloff in the stock that morning upon the release of financial numbers.  CEO Hunter Harrison noted the company had decreased employment levels by 5000 to 6000 workers, over 90% through attrition such as retirements, since the 2012 proxy contest that installed a new board and management.  Harrison expected a further 1000 employees to be lost to attrition through 2016 with most towards the start of the year.  As far as merger talks go, Harrison said the company would have to change course although he wasn't sure what that would be with opposition from major players in the US.  He said that in one case he had spoken to over 50% of the major shareholders of one company about future mergers and acquisitions.

This year's CP Holiday Train a BIG Success!

For the 17th year, the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train program made its way across Canada and the northern United States, with donations expected to reach more than $1.4 million and more than 300,000 pounds of food for food banks for 2015.

"The Holiday Train is all about neighbors helping neighbors, and this year saw remarkable support for this important cause," said CP's Chief Executive Officer E. Hunter Harrison. "Each year, we are humbled by the good work local food banks do in helping those in need in their communities. We are proud that we can help them deliver on that mission."

Katharine Schmidt, executive director, Food Banks Canada, stated, "Every year, CP's train of lights provides a platform to speak about the needs of North American food banks. This year they helped drive the message home not only about ongoing needs, but the ability for individuals to raise levels of health in their community by reaching in their cupboards for healthy donations."

Overall attendance of this year's Holiday Train events was estimated at 450,000 over the 23 days. People attending, who were encouraged to think about healthy options when donating food, were entertained by a number of musicians, including Wes Mack, Kira Isabella, Doc Walker, Kelly Prescott, Jim Cuddy, Devin Cuddy, and Chic Gamine.

"We are so honored to once again be part of a magical program that brings communities together to raise money for local food banks," remarked Chris Thorsteinson of Doc Walker. "You don't realize how much towns use food banks and how important it is to support them around this time of year until you travel across the country learning about the need."

CP's annual Holiday Train program is a rolling fund-raising event that raises money, food, and awareness for food banks and hunger issues, hosting free holiday concerts along the way. Since its start in 1999, the CP Holiday Train has now helped to raise more than C$12 million and 3.9 million pounds of food for local food banks.

CP still fighting to obtain NS - now to the courts!

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. is asking the U.S. Justice Department to investigate whether its competitors are conspiring to block its proposed acquisition of Norfolk Southern Corp., accusing them of "unprecedented" and "likely illegal" actions. But two prominent U.S. rail lawyers say it will be a difficult case to make, and CP's rivals are likely protected from any antitrust charges.  In a letter addressed to the Justice Department's antitrust division, CP argues that recent media reports indicate that its rivals are "organizing a collective campaign" to block CP's proposed takeover offer, which Norfolk Southern has repeatedly rejected. 

Last week, Reuters quoted executives from CSX Corp., Union Pacific Corp. and BNSF as saying they are opposed to the proposed merger and have met to discuss it.

"We don't want Class 1 railroad mergers to happen," Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz was quoted as saying. "We'll do everything in our power to make them not happen."

CP spokesman Marty Cej said the company only decided to ask the Justice Department to weigh in after careful consideration.

"We get it that some competitors might not like the idea of a more efficient competitor, but when statements are made in the press that others have gotten together to prevent mergers, we just thought that was eyebrow-raising," Cej said in an interview.

Michael McBride, a transportation lawyer at Van Ness Feldman LLP in Washington, D.C., said it's unlikely that CP's letter will result in its competitors being charged with antitrust violations. 

"I think this is quite a long shot to expect the Justice Department to investigate this," McBride said.

"I think the Justice Department would be inclined to go after the railroads if they were collectively setting rates or terms of service, refusing to haul certain kinds of things or creating agreed-upon commercial limitations, but probably not for something like this kind of advocacy."

The Justice Department's decision will rest on its interpretation of the Noerr-Pennington doctrine, which says that private entities are immune from antitrust laws as long as they're lobbying the government.

CP says in its letter than the doctrine doesn't apply in this case, because it hasn't yet reached an agreement with Norfolk Southern or filed an application with any government agency.

But McBride said the railways' public comments are likely part and parcel of a broader advocacy effort that includes government lobbying and which would therefore be protected from any antitrust actions.

Another prominent U.S. rail lawyer said CP's letter "smacks a bit of desperation."

"This seems to me to involve potential overreaching on CP's part," said the lawyer, who agreed to speak only anonymously, as he did not want his comments to impact his practice.

In its letter to the Justice Department, CP said its competitors are more worried about what a merger will mean for their own profitability than what it will mean for the public.

"The collective communication strategy of these competitor railroads is also likely illegal because it is anticompetitive; it is an agreement to collectively work together to prohibit the introduction of competition by a new competitor, which is akin to a group boycott in principle and intended effect," it adds.

Tuesday's letter is part of an escalating war of words between CP and Norfolk Southern, with most of the other Class 1 railroads publicly taking Norfolk Southern's side. Norfolk had rejected CP's latest bid of roughly US$31 billion in December, calling it "grossly inadequate" and some industry observers say that U.S. regulators are unlikely to allow a merger of the larger Class 1 railroads.

"I view this as another part of the war for public opinion," said Tony Hatch, principal at railway consulting firm ABH Consulting. "Those guys sent it over the net and (CP CEO Hunter Harrison) sent it back in with a sharp rejoinder."

Cej denied this, saying the letter simply intends to draw the Justice Department's attention to a worrying issue.

"This isn't a PR campaign," he said. "This is transparency."  (Financial Post)

 Supt. Under Investigation by Transport Canada No Longer With CP

A CP superintendent who is under investigation by Transport Canada in no longer with the company, the Revelstoke Review has learned.

Mark Jackson,  who is under investigation for allegedly ordering a train carrying dangerous goods be parked without handbrakes east of Revelstoke on Feb. 14, 2015, is "no longer at CP", confirmed a company spokesperson, adding his departure was not due to the ongoing investigation.

"While we don't comment on individual personnel matters, I can tell you that this is not in relation to the Greeley incident," wrote Jeremy Berry, in response to questions. He did not say if Jackson was dismissed or if he left on his own accord.

Jackson, CP Rail and at least one radio traffic control operator are being investigated for allegedly ordering a train carrying dangerous goods be parked at Greeley, about 10 kilometres east and uphill of Revelstoke, without handbrakes.

The incident happened on Feb. 14, the night's running trades workers went on strike. According to a search warrant obtained by the CBC, the train operators said they didn't have time to apply the handbrakes. That's when Jackson allegedly ordered the train be parked without handbrakes in place, in contravention of Transport Canada regulations.

The rail traffic controller is being investigated  for allegedly relaying the command.  The train was moved the following day without incident.

Jackson was the superintendent of the Revelstoke-based Mountain Division from September 2013 to March 2015, when he was transferred to the Kootenay Division, which is based in Cranbrook, BC .  (Revelstoke Review)

 Transport Canada's investigation at CP Greely.  

In September of 2015, a team of Transport Canada investigators was in Revelstoke last week to study a section of CP Rail track in the Greely area in connection with an incident that took place in February.

CP Rail is being investigated for allegedly parking rail cars in a siding on February 16th, 2015 without administering the car hand brakes manually. The location of this siding is 10 kilometers east of Revelstoke, BC.

The CBC reported in June that a team of Transport Canada investigators entered the CP Rail headquarters in Calgary in May as part of an investigation into the incident in which a train carrying dangerous goods was allegedly stopped on the tracks at Greely the night running trades people went on strike in February.

Last Tuesday, Sept. 15, five Transport Canada personnel were in Revelstoke to continue their investigation of the incident, confirmed a spokesperson for Transport Canada.

The investigators brought with them an Engineering Assessment Vehicle that is used to measure environmental hazards on a section of track.

The Transport Canada officials placed the vehicle on the CP Rail tracks at the Greeley crossing near the City of Revelstoke water treatment plant, then proceeded to travel down the track eastward towards the Twin Butte siding. They did not speak to the Review before leaving, and were gone for at least 90 minutes.

The vehicle is "generally used to assess railway track slopes in high risk areas, due to environmental conditions like mud slides, debris flows, rock fall and snow avalanches," wrote spokesperson Sara Johnston. "If the system captures a measure that is out of the rule's threshold, an alert will be displayed and the information will be re-evaluated and confirmed by a qualified Transport Canada track inspector."

The vehicle can also measure curves, track gauge and the difference in height between two rails in a track, but it does not measure steepness of grade.

Johnston would not say exactly what the vehicle was being used for last Tuesday morning, saying they couldn't comment on an ongoing investigation.

According to a warrant filed in court and obtained by the CBC, CP Rail and Superintendent Mark Jackson are alleged to have violated the Rail Safety Act by leaving 57 rail cars unattended without the hand brakes applied the night crews went on strike in February.

According to the warrant, Train 401 was on its way west to Revelstoke when the crew were told to stop at Greely, 10 kilometers east, and uphill, of Revelstoke. Because of the impending strike, the crew radioed in to say there wasn't enough time to apply the handbrakes as required.

The call then came back to not apply the handbrakes. According to the warrant, the order came from Jackson himself. The conductor, who was interviewed by Transport Canada inspectors in April, complied with the order. She notified her union representative, who forwarded her e-mail to Transport Canada. The train was later moved without incident.

Commentary from a CP employee;

I know some of the people involved in this incident, so I won't name any names involved. Interestingly, the supervisor who was fired was not even hired when I retired in 2005.  The firing was noted in the Revelstoke newspaper. (and in the above article as well).

 Sometime in early 2015, a westbound freight was approaching Revelstoke, very close to the maximum service hours (12) allowed in the hours of service regulations.  There was some pressure to have the train arrive at Revelstoke because of a possible strike deadline.

 Greeley is a tiny farming community , which provides road access to the track of the Mountain Subdivision, not possible east or west for several miles. Revelstoke is about eight miles distance to the west.

 Over the years, just about every scenario for relieving train crews has played out here in order to avoid the time consuming process of securing the train with handbrakes. Since "extended limits" came into the working agreements, the outgoing crew can be called to relieve the incoming crew. Yard crews can also bring the train in. Also, any qualified employee or supervisor can occupy the operating cab to ensure the train doesn't move (usually road manager, shop foreman etcetera) but I've done it as a yard engineer.

 What happened in this case was that the Manager of Operations (modern equivalent to an assistant superintendant) instructed the incoming crew to "cut and run", take the locomotives and several cars to Revelstoke, and leave the rest of the train at Greeley.

He told the crew not to secure the portion of the train to be left at Greeley.

 Greeley today is a pair of CTC crossovers in two track territory, but for many years was a CTC controlled siding. There are two private crossings which need to be cut, but they are far enough apart that many trains fit between them.

 Greeley is generally flat, with a slight downgrade westbound to the east (less the 1%) and another similar downgrade to the west end. In practical terms, you can park a train here for an indefinite period without handbrakes and it would be unlikely to roll away.  However, these are post Lac Megantic days. The unsecured portion of the train in this instance didn't move and I don't know how long it sat there in that state.

 What has not been made public information about this incident is the tone of the radio conversation between the manager and the crew. Was threatening or intimidating language used?

 Here we get into a grey area.  Experience and past practice tells me that when a "direct order" is received from a manager, it will be complied with. However, the law says that such an order can be refused if it poses an immediate danger to other staff and the public. Usually, the wise course is to "do it now and grieve it later".

 So here was the dilemma presented to the train crew and RTC. The crew likely knew that the unsecured portion of the train would sit at Greeley without handbrakes, and possibly the RTC did too.

 Did the supervisor threaten them in any way over the radio?. What was their response?

 What is interesting in this case is that Transport Canada investigated the incident twice, once soon after it happened and again recently.

 Did the change in Federal Government have any influence here?. We have all heard of Prime Minister Harper's habit of throwing minor Government officials "under the bus".

 Initially, CP transferred the officer to Cranbrook soon after the incident.  

The article mentions that the RTC was disciplined, no mention was made of the train crew. 

 (Via a former St-Luc Diesel Employee whose Name is withheld) 

 Transport Canada has hit Canadian Pacific Railway with an unprecedented order demanding the company change its freight train line-ups and fatigue-management practices on some runs in British Columbia because they pose "an immediate threat to safe railway operations."

Federal rail safety inspector Todd Horie sent CP a formal letter last In Mid-January  identifying working conditions that he says leave crews unable to get proper sleep or to predict their work schedules. The situation "creates excessive fatigue ... at locations on CP within British Columbia, including but not limited to Roberts Bank, Coquitlam and Kamloops," Horie writes.

The Transport Canada order requires CP to remedy the situation immediately by:

Including all travel time from CP rest facilities to train terminals when calculating the length of an employee's on-duty time.

Allowing employees to rest if the train they've been waiting for gets cancelled.

Improving the accuracy of train line-ups so employees can better predict their next on-duty shift

While Canada's freight rail industry has been experiencing a downturn in recent months, the general trend has been toward longer trains and greater volume of goods to keep up with the growing just-in-time delivery demands.

"CP will immediately comply with the terms of the order but will consider all options and the possibility of work scheduling as it relates to this matter," CP's assistant vice-president of communications, Martin Cej, told CBC news in an emailed statement Friday.

A review of working conditions was prompted by complaints from "multiple crew members" working so-called extended service runs between Kamloops and the Greater Vancouver Area.

In a follow-up statement Monday, CP spokesman Martin Cej said, "Crews are not on call 24/7. Crews have significant and often unutilized opportunities to schedule rest.

"CP has been taking steps to ensure crew members take more rest, but union collective agreements have been a barrier to change."

'Your brain is mush"

A number of locomotive engineers have told CBC News that changes to staffing levels and CP scheduling "Ten years ago, the company cared, but now, everybody is just concerned about money," one CP engineer from Western Canada told CBC News, asking to remain anonymous for fear of being fired.

He said a combination of longer trains, unpredictable schedules and the elimination of the taxis and vans that used to shuttle replacement crews back and forth between terminals are forcing employees to spend longer hours stuck at "away-from-home terminals."

"Our internal clocks are screwed," he said, describing a growing loss of control over when employees work and when they sleep.

Ruling practices are taking their toll and leaving train crews increasingly exhausted.

He said a routine scenario could see him driving a train from his home community to another location between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. but then having to wait 12 to 24 hours not knowing when he'll be assigned to drive a train back home.

"You get into your away- from-home terminal, say, at 6 a.m. in the morning. Then you go to bed, and you sleep until two o'clock in the afternoon. You get up. You're wondering when you're going to go back to work, And you look on your screen, and it's showing you not out of your away-from-home terminal now until midnight!" he said.

"You're fatigued," he said. "You're done. Your brain is mush. You want to go to sleep. You're fighting constantly with your body. Your body is telling you one thing, but you know that on the other hand, you've got to get that train home, 150 miles of track."

CBC News has obtained internal CP crew records from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario showing crews routinely having "layover times" in excess of 20 hours.

Officials found 11 deficiencies and have since instructed CP to adopt "corrective action plans" to fix those problems.  However, Transport Canada blacked out large portions of the audit report, which was obtained by CBC News through access to information laws, citing protection of commercial interests.

The department has refused to disclose what the problems were or whether they have been fixed.

Sources familiar with the audit tell CBC that CP's fatigue management practices "are not very robust and lack scientific rigor" - unlike in the airline industry, which has adopted much stricter, more predictable scheduling for employees.

"The rail industry as a whole is not very receptive to this," one government source told CBC News. "They are digging their heels in and sticking their heads in the sand. About 25 per cent of all of CP's train crews have no predictable schedules and are on-call 24/7."

'No teeth'

In an interview with CBC News, Sherry said Canadian transportation regulators are leading the way in developing models for fatigue management but that the laws to enforce the rules need more teeth

For example, the only fatigue management plan that CP has ever submitted was the one Sherry identified as lacking, which was filed with the government in 2011 and has not been updated since.

"There's a lot of evidence that shows that fatigue, if not properly managed, puts a serious and severe risk for creating operational errors," Sherry said.

"Air traffic controllers, ship's captains, pilots, train drivers, military personnel all have the opportunity to work in a 24/7 environment. We know that if you exceed or if you're up beyond 18, 19 hours, your cognitive efficiency decreases dramatically."

One CP engineer who told CBC that in late 2015, he was on-call or at work every single day for a month said he hopes the new Liberal government will step in and order changes to how CP and CN schedule employees.

"They just better look at this seriously and give Transport Canada the power they require and need to regulate these two railways properly - not [have] the railways telling them what to do," he said. CBC NEWS  REPORT

CP RCL Implementation:

CP is now increasing productivity and efficiency in rail yards by implementing remote-controlled locomotives (called RCL). A  conductor operates the R/C equipped GP38-2 locomotive from the ground to switch out rail cars, instead of relying on an engineer inside the cab, conductors and switch-crew members can now perform this work on the ground. CP is now implementing this technology. CP spent $8 million in 2014 to install remote control equipment in over 50 locomotives for over 100 work assignments in their network. Then RCL implementation now continues in 2016.  CP has reduced many yard jobs, with the goal to save $12 million per year, by implementing remote control operations now and continuing over 2016.  Some of CP's main yards are already implementing the latest RCL operation, using their newest R/C modified GP38-2 fleet.  The majority of these modified units are being done at Cadrail in Montreal, and at NRE in Silvis, IL. (Joe Ferguson Photo)

CP PHOTOS

On a cold gray day, Walter Pfefferle snapped CP 255 with CP 6262, DME 6090, CP 6255, 9584, 8864 and 2264 crossing over Hwy 2 at Woodstock, Ontario January 2nd, 2016. 

On January 24th, Kenneth Borg clicked CP T-27 making a set out at NS Oakwood Yard in Melvindale, MI with a trio pf former Soo Line SD60 units CP 6242, 6255, and 6221.

The day before Ken clicked NS train #171 westbound  at Monroe Blvd in Taylor, MI on January 23rd, with  NS 2510 and 9548.

 
David Maiers reported one of the newest ECO rebuilds (CP 5021)
making its way up to Saskatoon, SASK in mid-December 2015,  a rarity in these parts!  He also noted there are plenty of unrebuilt SD40-2s still around on CP's northern secondary mainline.  Witness SD40-2's 5961 and 5909 switching the Bunge canola processing plant at Harrowby, Manitoba on CP's Bredenbury Subdivision on January 4th, 2016.  While new 5000 series ECO rebuilds enter the roster, the old guard continues to work hard.  To the west, at the crew change point of Bredenbury, Saskatchewan, a half dozen SD40-2s were idling awaiting their next switching assignments.

Ed Creechan believes it helps to be a little crazy, otherwise why would a sane person chase a train through town on one of the coldest days of the year. On January 13th he really couldn't help himself after  spotting this westbound CP freight rolling through Hamilton Ontario with a trio of Kansas City Southern locomotives in the CP consist!  We would agree with him!  The KCS units included SD70MAC 3929 and SD70ACE 4116. 

What's at St-Luc?  On January 23rd, 2016 on a visit to CP St-Luc Yard in Montreal, QC Luc Lanthier caught  the following units:

On  January 8, 2016 at 11:30am, the following units were noted at the St-Luc Yard in Montreal, QC:
  
CP 2251, 2256, 2279, 2282, 2285, 3024, 3038, 3039, 3047, 3048, 3053, 3064
CP 3089, 3099, 3101, 3119, 3129, 3130, 3134, 4508, 4653, 7309, 7310
CP 5763, 5773, 5788, 5795, 5833, 5903, 5919, 5928, 5942
CP 5946, 5949, 5953, 5993, 6017, 6031, 6038, 6613
CP 8500, 8501, 8508, 8510, 8529, 8538, 8542, 8548, 8554, 8557, 8580, 8624
CP 8627, 8714, 8723, 8737, 8801, 8823, 8860
CP 9520, 9521, 9530, 9539, 9545, 9555, 9558, 9570, 9571, 9573, 9576, 9577, 9581
CP 9595, 9598, 9599, 9608, 9629, 9641, 9649, 9655, 9660, 9671, 9682, 9709, 9711
DME 6080
SOO 4429

Train 142 - CP 9775/9781 was nearby heading to Hochelaga, QC with a Port Train. 
Departure track: Train 119 - CP 9750/8700 D Smiths Falls, ON at 17:20pm
Some of the AC4400CW's and SD40-2's on this list are currently in storage.

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