Investing in Canada: Rail Trends 2024
OTTAWA, January 21, 2025 – The Railway Association of Canada (RAC) today released Rail Trends 2024 – a rolling, 10-year review of financial and statistical results for the industry.
“Rail doesn’t just move goods and people; it moves economies forward,” says Marc Brazeau, RAC’s President and CEO. “Rail Trends 2024 is a testament to what a strong rail sector means for a competitive and robust Canadian economy.”
He adds: “Powered by over 37,000 railroaders, the rail industry invests billions of dollars annually to enhance safety, efficiency, and support the growth of Canadian businesses. Fueled by passion, pride and resilience, Canada’s railways continue to meet the challenge.”
Highlights of Rail Trends 2024 include:
- Canadian railways invested $2.9 billion to improve the safety, efficiency, capacity, and fluidity of Canadian supply chains.
- The safety performance of Canada’s railways was exceptional. Compared to 2022, the total number of accidents decreased by 8.5%, the passenger train accident rate improved by 52.4%, the freight accident rate improved by 7.7%, and the dangerous goods accident rate decreased by 15.9%.
- Railways added 2,000 direct industry jobs. The representation of women, persons with disabilities, visible minorities, and Indigenous peoples all increased.
- Passenger railways regained ridership – the number of rail commuters increased by 70.5% and intercity passengers increased by 30.7%, reducing congestion on public roads.
- Taxes paid exceeded $2.5 billion.
This 32nd edition of Rail Trends is a compendium of Canadian rail data up to December 31, 2023. Data is reported by RAC member companies: Class 1 and shortline freight railways, as well as tourist, intercity, and commuter passenger railways.
The full Rail Trends report is available here. Data for 2024 will be covered in next year’s report.
About the Railway Association of Canada
RAC represents close to 60 railway companies and more than 60 associate members (suppliers, consultants, etc.). Our railways get millions of people and $380 billion worth of goods across our country and to global markets each year. RAC advocates on behalf of its members and associate members to ensure that the rail sector remains globally competitive, sustainable, and most importantly, safe. Learn more at www.railcan.ca.
Data Contact:
Jonathan Thibault
Manager, Economics, Data and Research
jthibault@railcan.ca
Media Contact:
Morgan Swan
mswan@railcan.ca
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NT4
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