OTTAWA, (June 4, 2004) — Canada has built up a transportation infrastructure deficit that is starting to hold back the country’s economic expansion, Rob Ritchie, president and CEO of Canadian Pacific Railway, said at the opening ceremony of National Transportation Week.

Ritchie — who made the comments after receiving National Transportation Week’s Person-of the Year award for 2004 — said it’s time that transportation issues — regarding both truckers and the rail industry — moved to the top of the country’s agenda.

“Truckers have to cope with increasing congestion and bottlenecks at border crossings. Bulk shippers want to move more product than our rail networks can handle,” he said. “West Coast ports struggle to manage a huge influx of container traffic.

“While the railways are grappling with their burning need to invest, our highway network is also being strained,” he continued. “So here you have the two backbones of
the economy — railways and highways — under stress.”

Ritchie warned the emerging capacity problem in the rail industry will become more acute as any talk of regulated running rights, or open access to rail lines, scares away needed investment capital.

He called on all the surface transportation modes and the federal and provincial governments to work together, adding that increased truck-rail partnerships can help trucking companies address their driver shortages.