In 2020, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic helped to end three years of revenue growth, as Canadian railways posted operating revenues of $16.5 billion in 2020, down 5.6% from 2019. The Canadian rail transportation industry is comprised of two mainline freight carriers and several short line freight railways along with passenger rail companies.
Freight revenues drop
Freight revenues, which accounts for 90.0% of the industry's total operating revenues, declined 6.0% from 2019 to $14.8 billion in 2020. This decline was not as steep as that experienced by many other industries, such as airlines for examples, since railways are deemed an essential service in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to move commodities and critical goods.
However, short-line carriers took a harder hit during the pandemic than the mainline freight carriers, as short-line carriers often serve specific commodities or industries. These smaller carriers, which accounted for 2.6% of the total rail operating revenues, experienced a 42.3% drop in operating revenues.
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