Railway Interswitching Regulations

Contents

Whereas the National Transportation Agency has taken into consideration the reduction in costs that, in the opinion of the Agency, results from moving a greater number of cars, or from transferring several cars, at the same time;And Whereas the Agency has considered the average variable costs of all movements of traffic that are subject to the rates prescribed by the annexed Regulations.Therefore, Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport, pursuant to paragraph 137(1)(a) and subsection 152(4) of the National Transportation Act, 1987, is pleased hereby to approve the annexed Regulations respecting the interswitching of rail traffic, made by the National Transportation Agency.^note

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[Repealed, SOR/2019-254, s. 2] (repealed)

Interpretation

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In these Regulations,

Act means the Canada Transportation Act; (Loi)

car block means 60 or more cars that, as a block, are interswitched at an interchange and are destined to, or originate from a single shipper at a siding; (rame de wagons)

siding means

(a)a private siding that connects with a line of railway of a terminal carrier,

(b)a team track of a terminal carrier,

(c)a track where traffic may be loaded or unloaded directly from or into a shipper’s facility abutting a terminal carrier’s tracks,

(d)a track for loading or unloading in a public stockyard, and

(e)a point of origin or a point of destination, as those expressions are defined in section 87 of the Act,

(f)a track that is used by a terminal carrier for the transfer of traffic between cars or between a car and a warehouse owned by the terminal carrier, or

(g)a track that serves a reload or distribution compound, a container terminal or any other facility operated by a terminal carrier or its agent or for the terminal carrier’s own purposes; (voie d’évitement)

but does not include

terminal carrier means a railway company that interswitches traffic at an interchange to or from a siding. (transporteur de tête de ligne)

^note

Application

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(1)These Regulations do not apply

(a)in respect of the operation of transferring traffic, where a terminal carrier has interswitched traffic to a siding for unloading in accordance with these Regulations and transfers the traffic to another siding at the request of a shipper or another railway company; and

(b)in respect of the operations and administration of a railway company if, in the immediately preceding three year period, the company derived at least 90% of its gross freight revenues from interswitching, according to the returns prepared by the company under regulations made under section 50 of the Act.

(2)Where the Agency determines that a railway company does not qualify for an exemption from the application of these Regulations under paragraph (1)(b) because the company derived less than 90 per cent of its gross freight revenues from interswitching in the immediately preceding three year period, these Regulations

(a)become applicable to the company 10 days after the day on which the Agency sends the company notification of that determination; and

(b)apply to the company for a period of one year after the day on which they became applicable to the company under paragraph (a).

(3)A railway company referred to in subsection (2) may, on the expiration of the period referred to in paragraph (2)(b), present to the Agency evidence that it qualifies for an exemption from the application of these Regulations under paragraph (1)(b).

(4)The Agency shall, within 60 days after receiving the evidence referred to in subsection (3), notify the company as to whether it qualifies for an exemption.

General

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A terminal carrier shall at all times furnish to interswitched traffic a level of service equal to the level of service accorded the terminal carrier’s line haul traffic.

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A railway company for whom a terminal carrier interswitches a car shall deliver an empty car to the terminal carrier at the interchange for delivery to a siding for loading.

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No charge shall be made by a terminal carrier for the delivery of an empty car from an interchange to a siding for loading or for the return of an empty car to an interchange after unloading.

Interswitching Distance Zones

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(1)The distances referred to in subsection (2), other than the distances referred to in subparagraph (2)(d)(i) and paragraph (2)(e), are measured along the track of the terminal carrier.

(2)For the purposes of these Regulations, the following interswitching distance zones are established:

(a)interswitching distance zone 1, being a zone that includes sidings located wholly or partly within 6.4 km of an interchange;

(b)interswitching distance zone 2, being a zone that includes sidings located

(i)wholly or partly within 10 km of an interchange, and

(ii)wholly outside interswitching distance zone 1;

(c)interswitching distance zone 3, being a zone that includes sidings located

(i)wholly or partly within 20 km of an interchange, and

(ii)wholly outside interswitching distance zones l and 2;

(d)interswitching distance zone 4A, being a zone that includes sidings located

(i)wholly or partly within a radius of 30 km of an interchange,

(i.1)wholly or partly within 40 km or less of an interchange, and

(ii)wholly outside interswitching distance zones 1, 2 and 3;