November 24, 2021 – The end of this crisis appears to be nearing. Four trains transited across CP’s mainline between Vancouver and Kamloops yesterday and most of these carried containerized cargo. Additional CP and CN trains will transit today. All trains are operating in accordance with low-speed restrictions to enable monitoring of rail infrastructure in recently repaired areas. Intermittent closures to address repairs and ensure safe operations may occur. CN anticipates the opening of their mainline on Thursday, November 25.
November 23, 2021 – CP operated two trains on their mainline between Vancouver and Kamloops to enable engineering teams to perform full infrastructure inspections and undertake additional repairs. The restored line is anticipated to be open for the start of regular rail service later today, Tuesday, November 23. Both CP and CN trains will transit over the restored line and will operate with slow orders in place and additional track patrols. CN has revised their estimated opening of their mainline from Wednesday, November 24 to Thursday, November 25.
November 22, 2021 – CN and CP crews and engineering teams continue to make significant progress clearing debris and undertaking repairs to damaged rail infrastructure between Kamloops and Vancouver. CP anticipates having its mainline operational by late Tuesday, November 23. CN expects to open their mainline on Wednesday, November 24. Rail service on restored lines will resume when it is safe to do so. The provincial state of emergency declared by the British Columbia Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General remains in place. The state of emergency effective November 17, 2021 applies to the entire province of B.C. for an initial 14-day period and may be extended or rescinded as conditions require.
November 21, 2021 – The Vancouver gateway continues to experience disrupted rail and truck movement due to widespread flooding throughout the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley regions. The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is working with our supply chain partners including railways and terminals, and lead agencies at various levels of government. As with everyone involved in the response to this situation,the current priorities are public safety and facilitating essential services. The provincial state of emergency declared by the B.C. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General remains in place. The state of emergency effective November 17 applies to the entire province of B.C. for an initial 14-day period and may be extended or rescinded as conditions require. The state of emergency enables federal, provincial and local governments to allocate resources and deliver a coordinated response to protect the public.
Rail operations: CN and CP crews and engineering teams continue to clear debris and undertake repairs to damaged infrastructure between Kamloops and Vancouver. Although significant progress has been made in restoring multiple rail sections, access to some impacted locations continues to be hampered by safety and logistical challenges. CP advised on Sunday night that, barring any unforeseen issues, rail lines could be restored by Tuesday evening.
Truck operations: Trucks are operating under normal conditions at all four container terminals.
Marine operations: Anchorage demand is high and nearing capacity across all vessel types. Anchorages are assigned in a manner that ensures fluidity across all ship types and maintains essential services. Vessels in port can be viewed on the home page of the PortVan eHub app by selecting “Vessels in Port.”
Intermittent openings of one highway route are allowing some commercial vehicles to transit westbound from Hope towards Vancouver. Reconstruction and repairs on all major roadways from the B.C. interior continue.
November 20, 2021 – CN Rail and CP Rail traffic through the Fraser Canyon remains closed and there is no ETA at this time for providing an estimate of when service will resume. However, we have received continuing reports that rail lines may be open within 2 weeks for essential rail traffic.
November 19, 2021 – The provincial state of emergency declared by the British Columbia Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General remains in place. The state of emergency effective November 17, 2021 applies to the entire province of B.C. for an initial 14-day period and may be extended or rescinded as conditions require. The state of emergency enables federal, provincial and local governments to allocate resources and deliver a coordinated response to protect the public. Evacuation orders for multiple communities remain in place in the flood stricken areas. CN and CP crews and engineering teams continue to clear debris and undertake repairs to damaged infrastructure between Kamloops and Vancouver. Although significant progress has been made in restoring multiple rail sections, access to some impacted locations continues to be hampered by safety and logistical challenges. CP advised that barring any unforeseen issues, rail lines could be restored mid-week. Rail operations will resume when it is safe to do so.
November 18, 2021 – Rail lines between Kamloops and Vancouver remain closed as both CN and CP crews and engineering teams continue to clear debris and conduct repairs at multiple locations. A timeline for the resumption of rail operations to the west coast is currently unavailable. Vessel delays and heightened anchorage demand due to disrupted terminal operations are expected. Flooding impacts on highways remain severe and widespread throughout southwestern B.C. The intermittent opening of one highway route allowed some passenger traffic to flow out of the impacted areas towards Vancouver. All highways remain closed to non-essential traffic as work crews continue with reconstruction and repairs. Damage assessments of roadway infrastructure are ongoing. We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you informed on any new developments as they arise.
November 17, 2021 – Until the situation normalizes, Canaan Transport will provide regular updates on the shifting situation. CN and CP main rail corridors are not currently operational between Vancouver and Kamloops due to washouts and landslides. Both CN and CP crews are clearing debris and conducting repairs at multiple sites with progress being made in restoring some impacted rail sections. A timeline for fully restored rail operations to the west coast is currently unavailable. Vessel delays and heightened anchorage demand at the Port of Vancouver due to disrupted terminal operations are expected. Flooding impacts on highways remain severe and widespread throughout southwestern B.C. All main highway routes to the Metro Vancouver area are closed. Resumption of traffic is expected to take two to three days. Damage assessments of roadway infrastructure are ongoing.
November 16, 2021 – All rail service coming to and from the Port of Vancouver is halted because of flooding in the B.C. interior. Both CN and CP Rail indicate that no rail traffic is currently able to transit between Kamloops and Vancouver. Both rail lines are conducting damage assessments of multiple impacted sites and infrastructure threats to establish access and repair activities required. A timeframe for re-opening of the rail lines will be known once damage assessments are complete.
Vessel delays and heightened anchorage demand are expected due to disruptions to terminal operations. We are working closely with our terminal operators, railways, and all levels of government to understand the impacts of these delays on terminal operations and to develop a recovery plan.
Flooding has also caused numerous highway closures due to washouts and landslide debris throughout southwestern B.C., including all main routes to the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley regions. Damage to roadway infrastructure is currently being assessed.
November 16, 2021 – CP is experiencing a track outage on the Cascade subdivision, north of Hope, B.C. CN is also experiencing an outage on the Yale subdivision, near Chilliwack, B.C. Both outages are impacting mainline train operations in those areas and are a result of the massive flooding in the BC region. CP teams are on site and will inspect tracks on the Cascade subdivision. Currently there is no time frame for service to resume in the affected area. Customers are advised that rail delays will be inevitable.