Customer Advisory
rainfall update

November 2021 Catastrophic Rainfall: LATEST UPDATES


November 23, 2021

Repairs to roads in and out of the Lower Mainland of BC continue: The 2 major highways - Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) and Highway 5 (Coquihalla Highway) will continue to remain closed for the foreseeable future.  Highways 3 and 7 are open on a restricted basis resulting in out of route miles and slow movement.

This routing will add considerable transit time compared to normal routes. There is an anticipation of delays in service of one or more days and additional costs as well.

As a result of the additional mileage and congestions, an out of route surcharge may apply when alternative routing is used and is to compensate for the extra hours and miles involved.

Carriers are looking to apply a surcharge on the per shipment base which will be added to all shipments until further notice.  This surcharge will apply to any freight moving over the road to and from Vancouver from BC or AB. 

We are hoping to be returning to normal operations soon and will keep you informed as we move forward.

Repairs to rails in and out of the Lower Mainland of BC continue: CN crews worked around the clock throughout the weekend restoring the track between Kamloops and Boston Bar. We expect this area to be passable early on Wednesday, November 24th barring any unforeseen issues.

CP crews also worked around the clock to restore catastrophic damage to their rail network in B.C. between Kamloops and Vancouver. As a result, CP’s Cascade and Thompson subdivisions in British Columbia will resume operations Tuesday, November 23. They will coordinate with customers and terminals to clear the backlogs as quickly and efficiently as possible.

LTL carriers utilizing both rails will clear out their current backlog and start accepting shipments for BC (if haven’t already), starting later this week.

 


November 19, 2021

BC is focusing on reopening roads. Repairs will continue through this weekend.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is opening Hwy 7 between Hope and Agassiz for Commercial vehicle. The intent of this opening is to allow these commercial drivers stranded in Hope and surrounding areas to make their way towards the Lower Mainland. Following this evacuation, Highway 7 will be closed again so crew can continue to work on the highway repairs.

The BC Trucking Association said Hwy 3 appears to be the first route to be able to be reopened possibly by the end of the weekend. Movement of goods will be prioritized.

The association is engaged with the Canada Border Security Agency and the US Custom and Border Protection to explore the option of in-transit goods movement from a border crossing in the interior BC to the Pacific Highway in Vancouver.


November 17, 2021

British Columbia has experienced torrential rainfall over the last several days and this has resulted in some catastrophic situations. As of this morning, November 17, most carriers have not scheduled moving freight in or out of the Lower Mainland of BC. The rail lines for both CN and CP are not operational due to mudslides and flooding. In addition to the rail line issues, the highways in and out of the Vancouver area are also closed for the same reasons.

The most recent information available is that CN and CP are struggling to get to the areas needed to access the damage and schedule repairs.

The situation appears to have worsened in some areas of the lower mainland due to the Fraser River overflowing, flooding out into the Abbottsford area.

The Coquihalla Highways has extensive damage but waiting to hear on the length of time it may take to repair.


November 16, 2021

Rail and road operations servicing the Port of Vancouver are heavily impacted by recent flooding in British Columbia: https://www.portvancouver.com/about-us/information-updates/port-of-vancouver-operations-update-19/