Canada – Montreal – Industrial action: Rail Delays

Please note that the dramatic surge in volumes at the Terminals in Halifax and Saint John have resulted in longer than anticipated Import dwell times, which can now be expected to be in the 14 day range. This is due to Terminal congestion and railcar availability as both Railroads adjust their networks to accommodate the new volumes.

Similarly for Exports, the Terminals can only receive finite volumes due to the congestion which has resulted in inland ramps periodically closing for receiving. Due to the ongoing fluidity of this situation, the notification of Vessel cut-off dates at the inland ramps may be delayed.

CP Rail: With the inland ramps closing periodically for receiving, when the window for receiving is open, please expect this window to be short in duration. We will contact you as soon as we receive this information from CP Rail for the individual vessels.

Update on previous notice from CP Rail regarding FDA filing for cargo to and from Saint John, NB via rail: For the duration of the longshoreman work stoppage at the Port of Montreal, CP will manage FDA reporting for shipments originating or terminating at Canadian Terminals. Customers with shipments originating and terminating in the U.S. will continue their historical practice of reporting directly to the FDA.

CN Rail requires reservations (RV) to be made prior to arrival at the inland rail terminal. Please note that RV’s are also available outside of normal day-shifts and you are encouraged to use those RV times. To obtain an RV with CN, please log into the CN website at: https://ecprod.cn.ca/cis/#/auth

We appreciate your continued understanding during these exceptional times and we will keep you informed about further developments.