Prepared by: CPCS Transcom Limited
March 24, 2015
ABSTRACT:
This report provides a summary of a global scan of penalties imposed on railway companies to hold them accountable for service breaches and capacity requirement deficiencies. Penalties mean statutorily imposed monetary fines or terms of imprisonment. Countries covered by the scan are: Canada, the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, France, the United Kingdom, India, New South Wales (Australia) and New Zealand. The report found that only Canada, the United States, Argentina, and Brazil impose penalties for breach of service obligations by railway companies. Respecting capacity requirements, Canada is the lone country among those covered by the scan that has capacity requirements for freight railway companies, albeit one limited to: only two railways (CN and CP), one type of commodity (western grain), and a prescribed period of time (from April 7, 2014 to August 1, 2016).