Canadian government, farmer coalition to negotiate hopper car transfer
The Canadian government has agreed to negotiate with the Farmer’s Rail Car Coalition (FRCC) about transferring ownership of the federal railway hopper car fleet.
According to the Canadian Wheat Board, there are about 12,400 railway hopper cars in the government-owned fleet. The FRCC plan would see ownership of these cars transferred to farmers through the FRCC, who would manage and maintain the railcar fleet. The FRCC said the plan could save farmers up to C$75 million ($62 million) annually.
“This proposal would prevent increased transportation costs that would occur if other stakeholders took ownership of the cars,” said Ken Ritter, chairman of the CWB.
