2019 Rail Trends report

The Railway Association of Canada (RAC) has released its 2019 Rail Trends report, providing an annual overview of Canadian railways’ performance against the past decade of data and reflecting data to the end of 2018.

President and CEO of the Railway Association of Canada, Marc Brazeau, said: “This year’s Rail Trends report shows that Canadian railways are now fully recovered from the great global recession of 2008-09, the worst economic shock since the Great Depression. RAC members’ wheels are always turning – moving people, goods, and the Canadian economy.”

The main highlights of the 2019 Rail Trends report included:

• Canadian railways originated a record number of carloads during 2018 at 6.1 million, with labour productivity above the five-year average
• RAC passenger railway members made a record 88.1 million journeys last year – ultimately reducing road congestion and making cities more liveable
• Freight carriers increased fuel efficiency by over 23 per cent in the last decade
• 2018’s freight accident rate was among the lowest on record, with passenger railways maintaining an accident rate of less than one per million travellers for the seventh consecutive year
• RAC members invested almost $2.4 billion in Canada’s rail networks and paid more than $2 billion to Canadian governments.

Brazeau continued: “RAC members now move more than 88 million passengers and more than $310 billion in goods in Canada every year. We look forward to working with the government and all parliamentarians to ensure that important investments in rail continue over the coming decade.”