New environmental study supports rail regulations

OTTAWA, Ont. (Dec. 11, 2001) — Another report conducted for Environment Canada shows that a voluntary agreement by the Canadian railway industry to reduce air pollution is simply not working, the Canadian Trucking Alliance says.

The report, conducted by the consulting firm International Transportation Technology, has led the CTA to yet again call for the federal government to impose the same tough environmental regulations on locomotives as it does on trucks. The report also claims that railway emissions are under-reported by about 7% a year, and although higher power locomotives may be increasing fuel efficiency, they are contributing to an increase in emissions.

Under the voluntary Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Railway Association of Canada and Environment Canada, emissions from locomotive engines are not regulated like they are for truck engines and fuels. However, the power to regulate railway emissions was transferred to Transport Canada in 1999, and transport minister David Collenette has stated he will decide on whether to regulate the railways by the end of this year. With only 20 days remaining on the year, no decision has yet been made.

ITT also indicated in the report that the railways are likely reticent about any regulation or obligatory compliance since it would mean “quantifiable increases in capital and operating costs, (while)…the benefits, on the other hand, are considered intangibles and difficult to quantify.”