RAC names four 2026 Safety Award winners including CPKC and Metrolinx

The Railway Association of Canada has named four organizations — Quebec North Shore & Labrador Railway, Metrolinx, CPKC and PNR RailWorks Inc. — as recipients of its 2026 Safety Awards, the association announced in a press release dated November 4, 2026.

The annual awards recognize railroads, rail-sector companies and individuals who achieve meaningful progress in how Canada moves people and goods. RAC officials said the 2026 honorees were selected for innovative programs, emerging technologies and proactive practices that strengthen safety across Canada's rail industry.

"Canada's railways have made significant progress on safety over the years, but we know that our work is never finished," said Eric Harvey, president and CEO of the RAC. "What makes these awards important is that they recognize the people who are finding new and better ways to do things."

Who won, and for what?

The 2026 RAC Safety Award recipients are:

• Queens North Shore & Labrador Railway — no; correction: Quebec North Shore & Labrador Railway, managed by Rio Tinto IOC, honored for developing a comprehensive emergency response training program;
• Metrolinx, recognized for its grade crossing safety education campaign;
• CPKC, for developing and deploying switch position monitors that minimize train accident risk;
• PNR RailWorks Inc., for its signals and fiber labs training program that lets employees gain hands-on experience with railway signaling and fiber-optic communications in a safe environment.

What does this change for Canadian rail operations?

For operators, the awarded projects translate into two distinct safety levers. CPKC's switch position monitors address a known accident vector — misaligned switches — through technology deployed in the field rather than procedure alone. Metrolinx's campaign targets grade crossings, a persistent source of collisions between trains and road users, through public education rather than infrastructure change.

The two training programs take a different route. Quebec North Shore & Labrador Railway, the iron ore hauler managed by Rio Tinto IOC, built an emergency response training program, preparing staff for incidents on a heavy-haul freight operation. PNR RailWorks' signals and fiber labs give maintenance and installation employees a controlled environment to practice work on signaling and fiber-optic communications systems before performing it on live infrastructure.

RAC framed the awards as part of a continuing effort rather than a finish line. Harvey's statement that "our work is never finished" positions the recognition as an incentive for ongoing improvement across the sector.

The four winners span freight, passenger and contractor segments of the industry: CPKC operates transnational freight across Canada, the United States and Mexico; Metrolinx runs regional passenger service in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area; Rio Tinto IOC's railway serves mining operations in Quebec and Labrador; and PNR RailWorks supplies signaling and communications services.

RAC said the awards program will continue to honor organizations and individuals whose work advances the safe movement of people and goods across Canada's network.