Our transportation system: The public interest must be front and centre
There is an OP/ED in the Globe & Mail this morning calling for a renationalization of the rail system in Canada. While some may call for this, that genie is not going back in the bottle but there is an important lesson here particularly for places like New Brunswick.
As we have discussed here many times, there are industries where there is a strong public interest. Governments may want energy utilities, the rail industry, telecom, etc. to be run by private sector firms and capital but they shouldn’t totally ignore the public interest. I don’t particularly care if the restaurant sector becomes dysfunctional but if a strategically important industry that has profound ripple effects becomes dysfunctional I care quite a bit.
I have written about the rail system many times. It is clear that over time the essentially duopoly slowly consolidated around the highest value business and let places like NB wither. As the business declines and they need to make capital investments they come to government and threaten to close the lines completely without taxpayer funding. My favourite example is NB potato farmers shipping potatoes - a heavy low margin commodity ideal for rail shipping - by truck because it is easier than trying to deal with the rail companies.
The volume of goods being shipped by rail with Atlantic Canada as the origin is down 17% between 2002 and 2022 and up by 29% across the country. To put this another way, our relative share of national rail tonnage is down by 36%.
I will reiterate my call for the New Brunswick government to publish an annual report on the state of the transportation system in the province - roads, rail, air, ports. They should tell us if things are getting better or worse. This should be part of a strategic plan for transportation that includes all systems of transportation.
For air travel we should know if things are getting better or worse (prices, flights, delays/cancellations, etc.). For rail travel, prices, usage, etc. Same for ports, etc.
If you want to make something better you start by shining a light.
Going back to a time when the government owed rail, telecom, airlines, etc. is likely a non-starter and probably a bad idea anyway.
Putting a public interest standard on these industries and holding companies accountable should certainly be part of the conversation.
David, as for your example: "NB potato farmers shipping potatoes - a heavy low margin commodity ideal for rail shipping - by truck because it is easier than trying to deal with the rail companies.", during my work in Medicine Hat almost 20 years ago, most companies expressed frustration with the disinterest of the rail companies to work with them... including the Goodyear tire factory that employed 400 people. Working in the Edmonton region for a number of years until last summer, when working to address an RFP or Expression of Interest for a site selector, getting any response for information from one of the railways to answer basic development questions was just a dream - and that was experienced by EDOs across the Capital Region.
Harold Wilson
There is no easy answer to the best transportation system. Whether subsidized or private, the rail system is the most expensive and awkward way to move most commodities, including people. The transportation system, like housing and the food supply, is going through a metamorphosis, and the best-laid plans will likely fail. Electric self-driving publicly-owned cars might someday be the only practical way to move people in cities, and freight could be moved in nuclear-powered ships to seaports where self-driving nuclear-powered truck trains pick up the containers and deliver them. Computer guidance, truck trains, and something like dirigibles could replace the rail system and turn the air transportation industry on its head.
Change is now a constant, and private investment in existing technology is naturally cautious. As in a war, a plan lasts only until the first shot is fired. But we can't win if we don't try, and shining a light is better than stumbling around in the dark.