Message from the President – February 2024
As we close out a month that is dedicated to romance of all kinds, it’s clear that Canadians love the lore of rail’s heritage.
You see it in the throngs of attendees at model train shows happening across the country over recent and coming weeks.
It’s clear in the faces of the young and the young-at-heart as they make Spring Break pilgrimages to museums like the Toronto Railway Museum, ExpoRail on Montréal’s South Shore, Ottawa’s Ingenium, and more.
It will also bear out as CPKC’s Final Spike Steam Tour of its fabled 2816 steam locomotive kicks off this spring in Calgary.
Canada’s history is synonymous with rail’s. And so is its future.
Sustainability is second only to safety at the top of railroaders’ minds these days.
Innovation and investment are transforming Canadian railways into clean, green powerhouses of prosperity.
Passenger railways are helping to keep our air clean and reducing congestion in and between our communities.
Freight railways are moving Canada’s economy into the future and getting to market goods the world needs.
Eco-friendly locomotives are being tested and trialed. Operations are continuously evolving to improve fuel efficiency. Emissions intensity is improving all the time.
In fact, trains now do environmental laps around trucks:
- Rail is three to four times more fuel efficient than trucking.
- One unit train can keep 300 trucks, and a single passenger train car can replace dozens of cars, off our roads.
- And four megatonnes of CO2 equivalent can be removed from our air if just 10% of truck traffic was shipped by rail instead.
These are facts that I cite often, including in meetings with Parliamentarians like my recent Senate appearance.
People need to know – and Canadians can be excited – not only about rail’s rich history, but also by its sustainable future.
Inspiring contributions and deep-seeded commitments to sustainability abound in our railways, which are voluntarily leading the way for other modes of transportation.
Rail is showing how it’s done and getting it done.
Read on for just a handful of examples and fall in love with rail all over again.
Marc