Commuter trains delayed more often on CP tracks
Staff cuts are part of the problem, says former railway employee
When commuter trains are delayed in cold weather, transit authorities are usually quick to blame frozen rail equipment or other mechanical problems.
But one former Canadian Pacific employee says staff cuts at the freight operator are to blame for at least some of the delays. CP owns half the tracks on which the commuter trains run.
Whatever the causes, statistics provided by the Agence métropolitaine de transport indicate more and longer delays on tracks owned by CP versus those owned by Canadian National.
Five years of statistics show that trains on CP tracks account for half of all departures, but 55 per cent of all delays or cancellations incurred on the AMT’s network.
And the delays on CP tracks lasted 15 minutes and 26 seconds on average, compared with 12 minutes and 40 seconds on the CN lines.
The figures do not include the Mascouche line, which began operations at the end of 2014.
The AMT’s Vaudreuil-Hudson, St-Jérôme and Candiac lines run on CP tracks and as such must work around freight train schedules.
The St-Hilaire and Deux Montagnes lines run on tracks controlled by CN. While the AMT purchased the Deux-Montagnes tracks from CN in 2014, CN still manages traffic, and performs maintenance on the tracks.
AMT spokesperson Fanie StPierre said she didn’t know why trains on CP lines appear to be delayed more often and for longer periods. She noted, however, that AMT trains registered an excellent on-time rate of 95.18 per cent on CP lines and 96.41 per cent on CN lines in 2015.
Those results exceed the agency’s targets, and St-Pierre said the ontime rate is expected to improve once 2016 results are analyzed. A delay is counted only if a train arrives at its final destination at least five minutes late.
“It’s true that there are slightly more delays on CP lines, but there are many characteristics that are different from one train line to another, so it’s hard to pinpoint a reason,” St-Pierre said.
“For example, on the DeuxMontagnes line, there are only AMT trains running on it — that’s unique to the network.”
A former CP employee said some delays on CP lines have been caused by staff cuts at the freight operator.
The ex-worker, who is in regular contact with train traffic controllers working at CP’s Ogden yards in Calgary, said staff shortages were a direct cause of undue delays on the tracks near Montreal West that occurred over several consecutive days last October and affected the three train lines that use the track.
He said before CP moved its train control centre from Montreal to Calgary, nine people were managing traffic for all of Eastern North America. By last fall, that number had been reduced to three people at most, and sometimes fewer than that.
Train controllers are essential to keeping locomotives running, he explained, because they answer calls when signals on the tracks are red, telling conductors they are not permitted to move. That can happen when switches that allow trains to change tracks get jammed by debris, or by ice and snow in the winter.
“The normal operation is that the conductor will call the controller and ask for permission to proceed; the train can’t go forward until the controller gives verbal permission,” said the former worker, who did not want his name published for fear of reprisal.
“Once they get that permission, the conductor can proceed at 15 miles an hour. The crew may have to get off the train and align the switch ( by unjamming it).”
In the case of the October delays, the former employee said train operators were likely waiting on hold just to speak to a controller.
“Every time someone calls, the conversation takes two to three minutes, so if there are 20 delays in all of Eastern Canada, train operators can be waiting for 10 minutes or more just to speak to a controller.”
The former employee said after the October delays, CP added staff, and there is now one controller handling all AMT traffic. Neither CP nor the AMT would comment on the number of employees handling traffic on the rail lines.
Last month, CP spokesperson Jeremy Berry issued the following statement regarding the AMT’s operations:
“CP consistently has a yearly performance above 95 per cent across the three AMT lines it serves; 2016 is no different with CP’s on-time performance for AMT at 96 per cent (year to date). We consistently deliver for AMT riders, despite any challenges associated with weather, increasing ridership or other traffic.” CN issued this statement: “CN has a very productive partnership with AMT that allows it to provide quality commuter rail service in Montreal with a very good on-time performance record.”
St-Pierre said the AMT has had very few problems with CP and CN. That being said, train operations and maintenance of trains have been awarded to Bombardier starting in July 2017.
CN and CP will continue to control train traffic and track maintenance. St-Pierre said the AMT hopes having Bombardier operate and maintain all trains will result in greater operational efficiencies.