Rail transportation, 2014

Released: 2016-03-29

Operating revenues for the Canadian railway industry continued their upward trend in 2014, rising 10.0% from 2013 to $14.3 billion. Freight transportation revenues, which accounted for 91.4% of total revenues, were up 10.8% to $13.1 billion, while revenues from passenger operations increased 4.3%.

In 2014, operating expenses rose 11.6% to $10.5 billion, primarily as a result of train-related expenses and increases in station and terminal operations expenses. Total diesel consumed was up 4.4% to 2.1 billion litres from 2013, with the cost increasing 10.6%.

The operating ratio of the Canadian railway industry edged up from $0.72 to $0.73.

The average number of employees declined 9.1% from 2013 to 29,577 in 2014. The average annual salary increased 5.4% to just under $90,000 a year.

The Canadian railway industry is capital intensive, and its total assets amounted to $26.8 billion in 2014. In terms of rolling stock, the number of passenger cars increased 9.0%, whereas locomotives (-1.9%) and freight cars (-0.3%) both decreased.

Output, as measured by tonne-kilometres, rose in 2014. Freight tonnage was 2.1% higher than in 2013, while the average hauling distance increased 5.4% to 1 161 tonne-kilometres. Each train had about 103 cars on average in 2014, up from 99 cars the previous year.

Trends and patterns, 2009 to 2014

Increases in operating revenues and expenses

From 2009 to 2014, total operating revenues earned by Canadian railways increased 56.6%, while total operating expenses increased 34.7%. The cost of fuel increased 90.0% over this period.

Chart 1 
Rail operating revenues and expenses, 2009 to 2014

In terms of output, the tonnage of revenue freight was up 27.8% from 2009 to 357.8 million tonnes in 2014. The number of revenue passengers was down 10.7% during this same period.

Less track, more rolling stock, fewer employees

The amount of track operated decreased 7.7% to just over 62 000 kilometres from 2009 to 2014. Overall, the number of locomotives increased 8.6%, with the growth in the number of freight locomotives more than offsetting declines in the number of passenger locomotives and yard locomotives. There was a decline in the number of freight cars (-23.8%) and passenger cars (-4.4%).

The number of employees during this period decreased 6.7%; however, total compensation increased 12.4% and average compensation per hour increased 15.1% to $39 per hour.

Freight volumes continue to rise

In 2014, higher shipments of fuel oils and crude petroleum, and wheat contributed to a 2.9% increase in the volume of freight transported by Canadian rail carriers, which totalled 309.2 million tonnes. Since 2009, the total volume of rail freight has increased by almost one-third (+31.7%). Contributing to this growth were fuel oils and crude petroleum, up 307.4% to 20.9 million tonnes in 2014, and potash, up 155.8% to 17.5 million tonnes. The tonnage of sand, gravel, and crushed stone shipped by rail increased 128.0% from 2009 to 2014. Some of these materials are used as "fracking fluids" during horizontal drilling for crude petroleum.

Chart 2 
Total freight volume transported by rail, 2009 to 2014

From 2013 to 2014, containers on flat cars increased 4.2% to 35.6 million tonnes, while trailers on flat cars decreased 8.2% to 458 000 tonnes. Shipments of iron ores and concentrates, and coal edged down in 2014, but these products remained among the top commodities by weight. The top six commodities shipped by Canadian railways accounted for half of the total tonnage in 2014.

Chart 3 
Volume of rail freight by top commodities, 2009 to 2014

Rail shipments reflect regional economies

From 2009 to 2014, among the top commodities shipped by rail originating in the Maritime provinces were iron ores and concentrates, mixed loads or unidentified freight, lumber, and paper and paperboard. In Quebec, mixed loads or unidentified freight, other basic chemicals, and aluminium (primary or semi-finished) were among the top rail shipments by weight. Iron and steel (primary or semi-finished), automobiles, and minivans as well as mixed loads or unidentified freight continued to be the top rail shipments originating in Ontario.

Top rail shipments originating in Manitoba from 2009 to 2014 included animal or vegetable fats, oils and flours, and wheat and other cereal grains. Potash was among the top commodities from Saskatchewan. In Alberta, fuel oils and crude petroleum, coal, and wheat became the top rail shipments by weight. Coal, mixed loads or unidentified freight, and lumber continued to be the largest rail shipments from British Columbia.

In 2014, over one-half (57.0%) of all rail shipments by weight originated in three provinces: British Columbia (62.7 million tonnes), Alberta (60.8 million tonnes) and Saskatchewan (54.1 million tonnes).

Contact information

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