CN’s 2025–2026 Grain Plan demonstrates a “commitment to delivering high-performance service through disciplined planning, targeted infrastructure investments, and proactive supply chain collaboration,” the railroad reported July 31, when it released the plan (download below).
This past crop year, CN delivered a “record volume” of grain to both domestic and international markets, it pointed out. Current projections suggest Western Canadian movement for 2024-25 will total approximately 31 MMT, roughly one million metric tons higher than the previous record, it noted. That figure includes bulk and processed grain by carload.
“This achievement, which included robust movement of canola and wheat, was delivered despite significant headwinds including prolonged port labor disruptions and early‑onset extreme cold weather,” CN President and CEO Tracy Robinson noted in her published Grain Plan Message. “Our success is a testament to the resilience of our team and the strong partnerships we have built across the supply chain.”
This year’s plan, Robinson wrote, “reflects the strength of our scheduled railroading model, our long‑term capital investments, and the commitment of our CN team.” The railroad, she said, “continue[s] to invest in the resilience and capacity of our network through double tracking, yard expansions, modernized locomotive and hopper car fleets to ensure we can meet the evolving demands of grain movement across all seasons.”
Highlights from the CN 2025–2026 Grain Plan include:
- Capacity to Meet Demand: CN anticipates moving 27.0 MMT to 29.5 MMT of grain and processed grain products during the 2025–2026 crop year. The railroad said it has “sufficient resources in place to meet demand under normal operating conditions.”
- Supply Chain Coordination: CN said it is changing the way it distributes empty hopper cars originating from West Coast ports to improve visibility and planning with customers. Instead of distributing cars from major rail hubs in the Prairies, CN said it will distribute cars as they depart Vancouver. Customers will also have “enhanced visibility” on tracking their rail shipments through CN’s rail shipment tracking tool.
- End-to-End Transparency: According to CN, stakeholders will have access to weekly updates on car orders, supply chain conditions, and system fluidity through the railroad’s Western Canadian Grain Report and operational dashboards.
CN’s Robinson reported in the Grain Plan that while the railroad has “made important strides in insourcing core engineering work, and improving operational flexibility,” it continues to face “structural headwinds.” Federal labor regulations enacted in 2023 “have led to a measurable reduction in productivity, requiring more people to move the same volume of freight,” she said. “Extended interswitching, if reintroduced, would further reduce network capacity and disincentivize investment. The supply chain operates most effectively when customers fully utilize all available rail corridors. Traffic that moves through our network to eastern markets, via Thunder Bay, Montreal, Quebec City or Halifax, helps relieve pressure on Western corridors and improve the overall flow of goods. This corridor balance is essential to unlocking capacity and delivering for farmers. Government policy plays a critical role in this ecosystem. The government of Canada can enable economic growth by encouraging investment through competitive tax measures and avoiding disincentives that hinder progress. A shared vision for a resilient, efficient, and competitive grain supply chain will benefit all Canadians.”
CPKC during its Grain Plan release said that it “remains dedicated to safely and efficiently transporting Canadian agricultural products for export to global markets.”
The railroad expects to conclude the 2024–2025 crop year having transported in excess of 27 MMT of Canadian grain and grain products, “despite multiple supply chain labor disruptions, tariff uncertainty, and nearly double the number of days when safety-critical train length and speed restrictions were required this past winter compared to Winter 2023–2024.” This will be the” highest volume transported since the 2020–2021 crop year,” it said, when Canadian Pacific broke its “all-time, single-year volume record.” (CP merged with Kansas City Southern in 2023.)
“Our powerful North American rail network is enhancing safety, competition, and resiliency, and expanding route options and market access for Canada’s grain shippers,” said Keith Creel, CPKC President and CEO. “With grain and other customers looking to diversify their end markets amid trade policy uncertainty, CPKC is uniquely serving as a land bridge between Canada and Mexico.”
Key highlights of the CPKC 2025–2026 report (download below) include:
- Safety: In 2024, for the second consecutive year, CPKC said it had the lowest Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) reportable train accident frequency among Class I’s, “building on CP’s legacy of the previous 17 consecutive years of industry leadership.”
- Crop estimates: “On June 20, 2025, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) estimated the total size of the upcoming crop to be approximately 94 million metric tons (MMT), with a crop in Western Canada of approximately 70 MMT,” CPKC reported. “Grain customer estimates currently suggest an average of approximately 73 MMT for Western Canada.”
- Collaboration: “Precise and accurate demand forecasts are essential to CPKC’s resource planning,” the railroad reported. “CPKC is working with grain customers to obtain a firm understanding of their specific demand forecasts for the upcoming crop year so that CPKC can effectively plan capacity across all lines of business. Creating or shifting railway capacity cannot be done in a short period of time in response to dramatic shifts in customer demand. Large variability in grain transportation impacts the supply chains of other commodities.”
- CPKC capacity: “Based on CPKC’s understanding of current customer forecasts, and subject to market demand, CPKC plans to supply the capacity required to move up to 685,000 metric tons (MT) of Canadian agricultural products on average each week when the Port of Thunder Bay is open (generally from August through early January, and from April to July),” the railroad said. “During the winter months when the Port of Thunder Bay is closed, CPKC plans to supply the capacity required to move up to 525,000 MT of Canadian grain and grain products on average each week, subject to market demand.” If the grain supply chain uses this available weekly capacity “effectively,” CPKC said, then the railroad expects to supply the capacity required to transport up to 34 MMT of Canadian grain and grain products throughout the crop year, subject to market demand. “This performance target is contingent on all elements of the supply chain, including grain customer terminals, ports, and vessels operating with maximum efficiency, reliability, predictability, and balance throughout the duration of the crop year,” it noted. “The railway is only one part of a complex, integrated grain supply chain. The grain supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”
- CPKC people, equipment and infrastructure: CPKC said it continues to invest in the people, equipment and infrastructure needed to move Canadian grain and grain products. In addition to CPKC’s more than C$500 million investment in high-capacity hopper cars, the company said it is investing in and taking delivery of 100 new Tier 4 diesel-electric locomotives in 2025 “to help reliably and sustainably serve customers across its three-nation network.” Combined with “robust hiring, efficient operational solutions, and other network investments,” CPKC said it is “delivering significant capacity gains for Canada’s grain supply chain.”
“The federal government can help enhance Canada’s grain supply chain through the adoption of smart public policy to stimulate trade-enabling infrastructure investment and diversify Canadian trade,” CPKC reported. “For example, the government of Canada should introduce 100% immediate depreciation for supply chain capital investments to become competitive with U.S. policy, adopt and advocate for policies to grow Canadian grain and other exports to Mexico, address the challenge of frequent labor disruptions, and finally improve loading of grain onto vessels during periods of inclement weather at terminals located at the Port of Vancouver. Extended interswitching should not be resurrected because it is a policy antithetical to economic growth, competitiveness, and productivity. It is also contrary to the government’s stated objectives to improve Canada’s investment climate and diversify Canada’s trade.”
