How to beat the Revenue Cap Or Gouging 101

**mcfarms** · Aug 30, 2008, 07:34

Thank you for the info.

**haveapulse** · Aug 30, 2008, 09:04

Your welcome.

If anyone finds the Pocoman Tranportation Review Committee, then this should become an issue.

Ancilliary charges are above the revenue cap and have become an all to convenient approach to revenue grab for the railroads.

Two issues here:
1/ Timing: They are implemented with very little warning, and therefore not costed into sales.

If the railroad has the right to arbitrarily impose costs at their whim then at least their should be a 3 month lead time allowing for the costing to be included into sales costs.

2/ They are never negotiated with the customer always simply imposed by
email.

We are all a captive client, which is something the Review committee needs to address.

Ancialliary charges make up a significant portion of "pure" profit to the railraoad as most are put in place without any real costs associated.

No wonder they call it a railroad.

**haveapulse** · Aug 30, 2008, 09:16

PS: while I have zero tolerance for the lost economic opportunity created by the CWB, it is my opinion that the WGTA demise and the resulting costs to the industry makes the CWB look like a gift.

We need to at the very least get something out of the wimpy review process we have in front of us at this time.

**parsley** · Aug 30, 2008, 09:54

http://www.cita-acti.ca/CMFiles/CITA_Briefing_Session_Flyer_-_Halifax12LTW-7162008-3271.pdf

**parsley** · Aug 30, 2008, 10:01

http://www.sen.parl.gc.ca/SenWeb/speeches/details.asp?lang=en&sen=35&speechID=421

**parsley** · Aug 30, 2008, 10:02

http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/Bills_ls.asp?lang=E&ls=c8&source=library_prb&Parl= 39&Ses=2#highlights

**parsley** · Aug 30, 2008, 10:07

http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:FnqgQhvhgxsJ:www.cfa-fca.ca/upload/backgrounder.doc Bill C-8 %2B railways&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=ca

**haveapulse** · Aug 30, 2008, 21:42

1. Producers voicing concerns at rail review
by Rae Groeneveld

Groups representing Canada's agriculture producers are working to have their concerns heard during the federal government’s review of rail freight service.

The review will examine CN and CPR services to Canadian shippers and customers but farm groups like Manitoba’s Keystone Agriculture Producers Association are worried producers may be left out of the consultation process. President Ian Wishart says right now, the terms of reference don't include producers as shippers.

“We all know we deal with an elevator company before the grain gets into a rail car, but we pay the freight and the level of service has as much impact on us as it does any of the line companies," Wishart, who is also a producer, says.

KAP will urge the Canadian Transportation Agency, which is conducting this review, to ensure agriculture producers are a part of the consultation process.

“Otherwise, we really have no guarantee we're going to get a result that improves anything,” Wishart says.

Grain Growers of Canada is also actively trying to get the farm voice involved in this review process. Executive Director Richard Phillips says they've been meeting with shippers from other sectors such as mining, forestry and fertilizer.

"We think we're unique with our problems in grain shipping but then we find out the fertilizer people are frustrated, the lumber people are frustrated, other industries are just as frustrated as us," Phillips says.

Grain Growers met with Transport Canada earlier in the week to discuss the parameters of this review, and Phillips was pleased with how comprehensive it will be.

“They're going to be looking at the car allocation process, how the railways are forecasting demand for hopper cars and how well the railways are fulfilling the orders put in."

The entire level of service review is expected to take 18 months. Both KAP and the GGC say they will be doing their best to be involved in the process and ensure producer’s views are heard in the effort to improve railway transportation performance.

**agstar77** · Aug 31, 2008, 10:23

Nothing will change until there are open running rights. Don't expect anything from a wimpy government that is more interested in getting elected than doing anything controversial. It doesn't help to have railway buddies like the wheatgrowers, saying that the free market works. There is no free market in Rail transport.

How to beat the Revenue Cap Or Gouging 101