This report provides a quantitative analysis of the performance of Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways. The two key aspects of this performance assessment are the evaluation of; railway transit time performance and order fulfillment.   The review of order fulfillment is comprised of two distinct parts: the measurement of railway and customer forecast demand versus actual shipments and; the measurement of rail cars ordered by customers versus rail cars supplied by the railways.  This report provides the results of this quantitative analysis including the identification of significant variations in performance.

QGI Consulting has conducted a quantitative assessment of railway performance in Canada in two key areas; railway transit time performance and order fulfillment.  Both the transit time analysis and the order fulfillment analysis have been carried out using a statistically derived sample of railway traffic data for a two year period. This report describes the sampling methodology developed to select the railway transit and order fulfillment samples that form the basis of the quantitative performance analysis component of the Rail Freight Service Review.

This report provides a description of the processes in place between the railways and their customers for the communication of medium and long term demand forecasts. The report examines how demand is communicated by shippers, how the railways use this demand information in the development of their asset and service plans and the key drivers that can affect changes in railway demand planning.

The effective communication between railways and their customers regarding the demand for rail cars and the railway processes for responding to this demand is an important process that impacts the performance of the Canadian rail freight logistics system. This report provides a detailed description of the existing railway car order and supply processes in place for both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways for each of the railways’ major lines of business including bulk commodities, grain, and merchandise traffic.

This report provides a general description of the types of impacts that shippers and railways are faced with when problems occur in the Canadian rail based freight logistics system. The report also provides illustrative examples of the financial implications on stakeholders when service problems occur.

This report provides a description of existing penalty and incentive programs in place today between railways and the customers. It also assesses the degree to which such performance penalties and incentives for both shippers and railways are effective in ensuring reliable and consistent service.

This report provides a comprehensive description of the rail freight logistics system in Canada.  In addition to describing the structural and operational elements of the Canadian rail system this report also examines the interrelationships and interdependencies of the various system components and participants.