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Today and tomorrow, Canadian railroad industry officials will be conducting their own version of a "Day on the Hill" to try to enlighten legislators about industry issues.

Entitled "On Track for the Future," and co-sponsored by the Railway Association of Canada (RAC) and Canadian Association of Railway Suppliers, the event is scheduled to be held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

Organizers plan to promote the industry's impact on the economy and environment, and encourage lawmakers to draft "meaningful" rail legislation.

"One of the biggest rail issues for policy makers over the next decade will be to foster rail modernization and the growth in required capacity to meet the nation's needs," organizers said in an event brochure. "Rail policy should build on the proven success of deregulation and reliance on market forces. New regulatory intervention should be avoided."

The event also will focus on passenger-rail and short-line industry issues — such as small roads' efforts to fund 286k-related infrastructure improvements — and various taxes paid by railroads.

"Canada’s Class Is' tax burden is almost twice that of our American competitors — 9.13 percent of revenues in Canada compared with 5.41 percent in the U.S.," said RAC acting President and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Burrows in a prepared statement. "That gap will widen with the U.S. government’s recent decision to repeal the 4.3-cents-per-gallon federal fuel tax paid by American railways in two steps — about half next year and the balance on Jan. 1, 2007."