CN shuts eastern Canadian rail network

Canadian National (CN) said today it has begun to shut down its eastern Canadian rail network following delays caused by protests against a pipeline that have spread across three provinces.

More than 400 trains have already been cancelled this week. The situation has worsened since CN said on 11 February that blockades in Belleville, Ontario, had forced it to curtail some deliveries. The protests are unrelated to CN. First Nations groups and others have used blockades to protest a Coastal GasLink pipeline under construction in British Columbia.

"A progressive shutdown of our eastern Canadian operations is the responsible approach to take for the safety of our employees and the protestors," CN chief executive Jean-Jacques Ruest said today

The closure ends all transcontinental train movements, including some that are hauling propane, coal, crude, potash and pellets.

CN is taking steps to ensure it is well set up for recovery, "which will come when the illegal blockades end completely," Ruest said.

CN sought and obtained court orders to end the blockades. The blockades have ended in Manitoba and an end is imminent in British Columbia, the railroad said. But the orders of an Ontario court have yet to be enforced and continue to be ignored, CN said.

The shutdown puts up to 6,000 workers at CN and other rail companies out of work, Teamsters Canada said.

By Abby Caplan