Canada Transportation Act (S.C. 1996, c. 10)

Interswitching

Marginal note:Application to interswitch traffic between connecting lines

• 127 (1) If a railway line of one railway company connects with a railway line of another railway company, an application for an interswitching order may be made to the Agency by either company, by a municipal government or by any other interested person.

• Marginal note:Order

  (2) If the point of origin or destination of a continuous movement of traffic is within a radius of 30 km of an interchange, the Agency may order

  • (a) one of the companies to interswitch the traffic; and

  • (b) the railway companies to provide reasonable facilities for the convenient interswitching of traffic in both directions at an interchange between the lines of either railway and those of other railway companies connecting with them.

• Marginal note:Interswitching limits

  (3) If the point of origin or destination of a continuous movement of traffic is within a radius of 30 km of an interchange, a railway company shall not transfer the traffic at the interchange except in accordance with the regulations and the interswitching rate.

• Marginal note:Extension of interswitching limits

  (4) On the application of a person referred to in subsection (1), the Agency may deem a point of origin or destination of a movement of traffic in any particular case to be within 30 km of an interchange if the Agency is of the opinion that, in the circumstances, the point of origin or destination is reasonably close to the interchange.

Marginal note:Interswitching rate

• 127.1 (1) The Agency shall, no later than December 1 of every year, determine the rate per car to be charged for interswitching traffic for the following calendar year.

• Marginal note:Considerations

  (2) In determining an interswitching rate, the Agency shall take into consideration

  • (a) any reduction in costs that, in the opinion of the Agency, results from moving a greater number of cars or from transferring several cars at the same time; and

  • (b) any long-term investment needed in the railways.

• Marginal note:Limit on rate

  (3) In determining an interswitching rate, the Agency shall consider the average variable costs of all movements of traffic that are subject to the rate and the rate shall not be less than the variable costs of moving the traffic, as determined by the Agency.

• Marginal note:Publication of method

  (4) The Agency shall, when it makes its determination under subsection (1), publish the method that it followed for determining the rate.

• Marginal note:Interswitching rate to be published

  (5) The Agency shall cause the interswitching rate to be published in the Canada Gazette no later than December 31 before the beginning of the calendar year for which the rate applies.

Marginal note:Regulations

• 128 (1) The Agency may make regulations

  • (a) prescribing terms and conditions governing the interswitching of traffic, other than terms and conditions relating to safety; and

  • (b) establishing distance zones for the purpose of determining the interswitching rate.

  • (c) [Repealed, 2018, c. 10, s. 28]

• (1.1) [Repealed, 2014, c. 8, s. 7]

• (2) and (3) [Repealed, 2018, c. 10, s. 28]

• Marginal note:Transfer of lines does not affect entitlement

  (4) For greater certainty, the transfer of a railway line, or an operating interest in it, under Division V or section 158 of the National Transportation Act, 1987 does not affect any entitlement to an interswitching rate.

• Marginal note:Review of interswitching regulations

  (5) The Agency shall review the regulations when the circumstances warrant and at least once in every five year period after the regulations are made.

Marginal note:Power to require information

128.1 No later than August 31 of every year, a railway company shall provide to the Agency, in the form and manner specified by the Agency, the information or documents that the Agency considers necessary to exercise its powers or perform its duties or functions under section 127.1.

Long-haul Interswitching

Marginal note:Long-haul interswitching order

• 129 (1) A shipper may apply to the Agency for a long-haul interswitching order against a railway company that is a class 1 rail carrier if

  • (a) the shipper has access to the lines of only that railway company at the point of origin or destination of the movement of the shipper’s traffic in the reasonable direction of the traffic and its destination;

  • (b) a continuous route between those points is operated by two or more railway companies;

  • (c) the shipper is dissatisfied with a rate charged or proposed to be charged by the railway company referred to in paragraph (a) or with the proposed manner in which that railway company is to fulfil its service obligations for the movement of the shipper’s traffic between the point of origin or destination that is served exclusively by that railway company and the nearest interchange in Canada with a connecting carrier; and

  • (d) the matter described in paragraph (c) cannot be resolved between the shipper and the railway company.

• Marginal note:Restriction

  (2) If, at both the point of origin and the point of destination of the movement of the shipper’s traffic, a shipper has access to the lines of only one railway company that is a class 1 rail carrier, the shipper is entitled to apply for only one long-haul interswitching order, which is to be in respect of either the movement of the traffic from the point of origin to the nearest interchange in Canada or the movement of the traffic from the nearest interchange in Canada to the point of destination.

• Marginal note:No entitlement

  (3) A shipper is not entitled to apply to the Agency for a long-haul interswitching order

  • (a) if the point of origin or destination that is served exclusively by the local carrier is within a radius of 30 km of an interchange in Canada that is in the reasonable direction of the shipper’s traffic and its destination;

  • (b) if the point of origin or destination that is served exclusively by the local carrier or the nearest interchange is located within the Quebec–Windsor corridor or the Vancouver–Kamloops corridor;

  • (c) if the point of origin or destination that is served exclusively by the local carrier is located on a track that

    • (i) serves a reload or distribution compound, a container terminal or any other facility operated by the local carrier or for the local carrier’s own purposes, or

    • (ii) is used by the local carrier for the transfer of traffic between cars or between a car and a warehouse owned by the local carrier;

  • (d) for the movement of vehicles, as defined in section 2 of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, or of parts of those vehicles;

  • (e) for the movement of TIH (Toxic Inhalation Hazard) material;

  • (f) for the movement of radioactive material;

  • (g) for the movement of oversized traffic on flat cars, if the dimensions of the traffic require exceptional measures be taken;

  • (h) for the movement, on flat cars, of containers or trailers;

  • (i) if the traffic to be moved is already the subject of a long-haul interswitching order;

  • (j) if an order or consent agreement made under Part VIII of the Competition Act, which followed an application made by the Commissioner of Competition, addresses the rate for the traffic to be moved; or

  • (k) in any other case specified in the regulations.

• Marginal note:Deeming — interchange

  (4) For the purpose of paragraph (3)(b), an interchange located in the metropolitan area of Montreal is deemed to be the nearest interchange and to be located outside the Quebec–Windsor corridor if

  • (a) the point of origin of the movement of the shipper’s traffic is located in Quebec and north of the Quebec-Windsor corridor;

  • (b) the shipper has access to the lines of only one class 1 rail carrier at the point of origin; and

  • (c) the nearest interchange is located in the Quebec–Windsor corridor.