October grain shipments, a record, says CP Rail

Canadian Pacific says it moved more Western Canadian grain in October from the Prairies to Vancouver than in any other previous single month.

The Calgary-based railway said the record haul shows it will be able to handle this year’s expected bumper crop, although a spokesman was quick to add it doesn’t guarantee it will be able to duplicate the feat in upcoming months.

Farmers have been worried there could be a repeat of the rail transport bottleneck that followed the large crop in 2013-14.

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture has called on Transport Minister Marc Garneau to ensure railways don’t abuse their role and to maintain limits on how much profit they can make from grain transportation.

CP Rail said it delivered 15,865 carloads to the Vancouver ports in October, besting the previous single month record of 15,449 carloads last March.

Total grain movements from Western Canada to all destinations climbed 3.9 per cent over the same month last year, just behind the record set in May 2014, thanks in part to “millions” invested in country elevator and port capacity, it said.