Rail strike would affect more than 32,000 commuters in Canada’s three biggest cities

More than 32,000 rail commuters across the country will have to find new routes to the office if a work stoppage kicks off at Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. this week.

Transit authorities say select commuter lines that run on CPKC tracks in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver will be suspended should dispatchers walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Thursday alongside 3,200 other workers.

The railway has said it will lock out employees unless a new contract is reached or the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference agrees to binding arbitration — a path the union has rejected. The Teamsters have also issued a 72-hour strike notice, set to kick in a minute after midnight Thursday.

A phased shutdown of the networks at CPKC and Canadian National Railway Co. is already underway as the clock ticks down on negotiations between both companies and the union. Canadian Pacific barred virtually all new shipments on Tuesday morning, with CN planning to do the same Wednesday.

The commuter lines affected by the potential work stoppage are TransLink’s West Coast Express in the Vancouver area, Metrolinx’s Milton line and Hamilton GO station in the Greater Toronto Area, and Exo’s Candiac, Saint-Jérôme and Vaudreuil/Hudson lines in the Montreal area.

“Without the work of the CPKC rail traffic controllers, our trains on these three lines would be unable to run,” said Exo spokesman Eric Edström in an email in French.

The three Montreal lines account for 21,000 of the impacted daily riders, while the Greater Toronto Area would see about 8,100 customers sidelined, according to the transit agencies. In Metro Vancouver, more than 3,000 passengers take the West Coast Express each day.

TransLink said it will provide customer updates as the situation unfolds. Metrolinx is pointing riders to alternate routes and stations, while Exo said it is working “on the possibility” of alternative bus service.

The impact on commuter lines is limited to routes running on CPKC-owned tracks because dispatchers at CN, which hosts a greater number of passenger trains, are not part of the bargaining process and would not take part in a work stoppage.

The Teamsters represent some 80 CPKC rail traffic controllers negotiating for a contract — distinct from the company’s main group of engineers, conductors and yard workers.

Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon planned to meet with CN and union representatives in Montreal on Tuesday, and with CPKC and the Teamsters in Calgary on Wednesday.

MacKinnon, who stepped into the minister’s role barely four weeks ago, has repeatedly stressed that the parties must hammer out a deal themselves rather than rely on federal intervention, such as back-to-work legislation.

All sides said this week they remain far apart, with wages and scheduling as key stumbling blocks.