Both CN and CPR Under Western Grain Revenue Caps for Crop Year 2009-2010

OTTAWA, Dec. 21 /CNW/ - The Canadian Transportation Agency today announced that the revenues of the Canadian National Railway Company (CN) and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company (CPR) for the movement of Western grain had not exceeded their respective revenue caps for crop year 2009-2010.

CN's grain revenue of $463,919,885 was $3,734,477 below its revenue cap of $467,654,362. CPR's grain revenue of $454,043,873 was $1,681,884 below its cap of $455,725,757.

Crop year 2009-10 marks the first year since 2002-03 that both railways have been under their respective caps. In 2008-09, CN had exceeded its revenue cap, while CPR's grain revenues were below its cap.

The Canada Transportation Act requires the Agency to determine each railway company's revenue cap annually in accordance with the Act and then to determine whether each cap has been exceeded by the railway companies. The caps apply to revenue the railways derive from the movement of grain from Prairie origins, or grain imported into Canada travelling through Canada, to terminals at Vancouver, Prince Rupert, Thunder Bay and Churchill. In the course of its determinations for 2009-10, the Agency examined and verified detailed railway company submissions of grain traffic and revenue information.

Although not applicable this year, Government of Canada regulations stipulate that railways that exceed the cap in a crop year must pay any excess amounts as well as penalties to the Western Grains Research Foundation. The foundation is a farmer-funded and directed organization set up to fund research that benefits Prairie farmers.

About the Canadian Transportation Agency

The Canadian Transportation Agency is an independent administrative body of the Government of Canada. It performs two key functions within the federal transportation system:

    
    -   As an economic regulator, the Agency makes determinations and issues
        authorities, licences and permits to transportation carriers under
        federal jurisdiction.
    -   As a quasi-judicial tribunal, the Agency, informally and through
        formal adjudication, resolves a range of commercial and consumer
        transportation-related disputes, including accessibility issues for
        persons with disabilities. It operates like a court when adjudicating
        disputes.
    

For more information on the revenue caps, please visit the Agency's Web site at www.cta.gc.ca.

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