BRAMPTON, Ont. — Cartage owners have decided to resume work at CN’s embattled Brampton intermodal yard and have extended an olive branch to drivers by agreeing to pay extra money for waiting time at any terminal that goes beyond one hour.

Each owner will deal with the issue of money, over and above the regular pay, individually.

This surcharge is to be passed on to the forwarder/broker/importer.

However, the backlog of containers at CN’s Brampton yard is far from being removed.

"There is no doubt that this situation will continue for quite a while. The backlog is already stretching beyond the terminals and fully loaded trains are already sidelined until unloading space will become available at the terminals," reports the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFFA).

In the meantime, CIFFA has asked stakeholders to observe the following:

1. Do NOT deliver any export containers unless they are for ship’s departure cut-off.
2. Carters that have observed the reservation system and booked the pick-up 1 day in advance will receive preferred treatment. For such containers, CN will endeavour a turn-around time of less than 60 Minutes. CN will have available night-crews that will ready these containers for morning dispatch.
3. Key to the reservation system working is the Container Number.
4. Member firms are urged to do their reservations with their cartage providers well in time so they, in turn, can avail themselves of the reservation system.
5. ‘Last minute favours’ will not be possible in the near future and until the terminals are cleared of their backlogs.
6. Advise your clientele of the emergency surcharge that will be billed by the cartage community.