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The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) recently dismissed a Saskatchewan agricultural producer’s complaint alleging that CN’s planned delisting of certain western Canada loading sites constituted a breach of its service level obligations under the Canada Transportation Act.

Although the initial complaint referred to the loss of rail access by thousands of farmers at 53 sites, the CTA received no additional complaints by other affected farmers, so the case centered on the impact of delisting CN's producer car loading site at Allan, Saskatchewan, according to the CTA.

The federal agency determined the act’s service level provisions do not require railroads to maintain and operate all existing or requested producer car loading sites.

“Requiring railway companies to do so would render meaningless another provision of the act under which sidings may be delisted, a process which CN followed for the 53 sites,” CTA officials said in a prepared statement.

The agency also ruled that future traffic at the Allan site “is not certain and not likely to be in sufficient volume for the agency to reasonably require CN to maintain service at that location,” the decision states. In addition, the complainant will continue to have access to CN's loading site at Hanley, Saskatchewan, the CTA determined.