Major commuter line disruption continue as railways await word on arbitration

Thousands of Canadian commuters may have to change their travel plans for a second day after a countrywide rail lockout shut down lines in major metropolitan areas.

Bewildered commuters were turned away from shuttered rail lines Thursday, and the agency responsible for GO Transit in Ontario says service will remain down today on the Milton line and at the Hamilton GO station.

Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon has asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose final, binding arbitration to end the work stoppage.

Canadian National Railway Co. said Thursday evening it had ended its lockout and initiated a recovery plan, while Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. says it's preparing to restart operations.

CPKC also said in a statement the CIRB called an urgent meeting Thursday evening about getting service resumed, but noted the Teamsters union refused to discuss resuming service and wants to make submissions to challenge the constitutionality of MacKinnon's direction.

CN and CPKC locked out workers after they failed to reach a deal on a new contract before a midnight deadline Thursday, the first simultaneous shutdown on Canada's two largest railways. 

B.C. regional transport provider TransLink says service for the West Coast Express will remain suspended today, while in the Montreal area, three of the Exo network's train lines will also stay down. 

Exo spokeswoman Catherine Maurice says the time frame for resumption of services remains unknown.

"We are awaiting instructions from the CPKC, the owner of the railway lines on which we are unable to operate trains, before deciding on the terms and timing of the resumption of commuter train service," Maurice said in an emailed statement Thursday.

Via Rail says trains on its 480-kilometre Sudbury-White River line, which runs three times a week in northern Ontario, are cancelled until the work stoppage is resolved.

The affected commuter railways in Ontario and British Columbia also run on CPKC-owned lines.

CPKC said Thursday that further details about the timing of service resumption would be provided once it received the order from the industrial relations board.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 23, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CNR, TSX:CP)