Decision No. 16-R-2014

BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) applied to the Canadian Transportation Agency (Agency) to vary Certificate of Fitness No. 97015-5 to reflect:

1. the railway operation from the Canada/USA border at Coutts, Alberta over the Canadian Pacific Railway Company’s (CP) Montana Subdivision lead tracks and CP’s Railway Yard located at Coutts, Alberta.
2. the proposed railway operation from the Canada/USA border at Northgate, Saskatchewan over the railway tracks of Ceres Global Ag Corp. directly into its terminal loading and unloading facility to be constructed at Northgate, Saskatchewan.

In its application, BNSF also advised of certain other necessary revisions to more accurately reflect its current railway operations.

The Certificate of Fitness issued to BNSF and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Burlington Northern (Manitoba) Ltd. and Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Manitoba Inc., permits them to operate a railway in the provinces of British Columbia and Manitoba.

Subsection 92(1) of the Canada Transportation Act (CTA) provides that the Agency shall issue a certificate of fitness for the proposed construction or operation of a railway if the Agency is satisfied that there is adequate liability insurance coverage, as determined in accordance with the Railway Third Party Liability Insurance Coverage Regulations, SOR/96-337.

Section 93 of the CTA provides that the Agency may, upon application, vary a certificate of fitness.

The liability insurance requirement is an ongoing requirement and the Agency must be satisfied that a company operating a railway under federal jurisdiction continues to have adequate third party liability insurance coverage.

With respect to the adequacy of the third party liability insurance coverage, the Agency has examined the documentation and financial statements demonstrating that BNSF has acquired additional third party liability insurance coverage in respect of the operation of the new lines of railway in the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

In addition, the Agency has examined BNSF’s capability to pay the amount of the self-insurance based on its financial information.

The Agency is satisfied that there is adequate third party liability insurance coverage for the operation of the new lines of railway and that there continues to be adequate third party liability insurance coverage for BNSF’s current railway operations set out in its existing Certificate of Fitness, including self-insurance.

Accordingly, the Agency, pursuant to subsection 93(1) of the CTA, varies Certificate of Fitness No. 97015-5 as set out above.

Certificate of Fitness No. 97015-6 supersedes Certificate of Fitness No. 97015‑5 issued to BNSF on February 26, 2010.