Sustainable Railroading across Canada and Beyond

The paper focuses on railroad sustainability in Canada, in a time of growing concerns about safety, service and environmental impact. It draws on secondary data to profile the recent history and current state of the industry from a sustainability perspective. For instance, on a ton-mile basis, railroading is generally much more fuel efficient and environmentally-friendly (due to lower emissions) than trucking. The paper contains a content analysis and critique of sustainability reports released by Canadian railroads. In addition to reviewing literature and analyzing secondary data, this study involves interviews with several railroad management experts on sustainability. A broad definition of sustainability is adopted; covering the social, environmental and economic dimensions. Finally, the discussion includes speculation on the future of the Canadian rail freight industry, and outlines several critical policy issues.