Farmers are demanding an improved rail policy, according to a report published by The Western Producer.

The call centers on Canada's grain transportation system, in which western Canadian producers depend on the country's two major freight railways — CN and CPKC — to move crops from Prairie elevators to export terminals at Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf ports. Producer groups have long argued that the current policy framework gives railways too much pricing power over captive shippers, and that service failures during peak shipping windows cost farmers money through delays and demurrage.

The Western Producer report does not yet appear to include detailed specifics on the policy measures being sought, the funding or regulatory instruments involved, or the government bodies being petitioned. Readers should treat the headline claim as a statement of producer advocacy positions rather than a confirmed policy initiative, pending publication of the full article.

Demands for railway reform from farm organizations in Canada have a long history. Previous measures have included the maximum revenue entitlement program, which caps the revenue railways can earn from moving western grain, and extended interswitching provisions that were tested on a temporary basis and later allowed to lapse. Producer groups have repeatedly asked Ottawa to make those provisions permanent and to strengthen service-level obligations for the railways.

Any policy change would affect the movement of tens of millions of tonnes of grain annually across the Prairie network, with direct consequences for elevator turnaround times, export program execution and the basis levels farmers receive at country points.

The Western Producer says further details on the farmers' demands and the policy changes being sought will follow in its full report.