Railway Personnel Training and Qualifications Regulations: SOR/2026-141

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 160, Number 13

Registration
SOR/2026-141 June 22, 2026

RAILWAY SAFETY ACT
FREE TRADE AND LABOUR MOBILITY IN CANADA ACT

P.C. 2026-630 June 22, 2026

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Transport with respect to the provisions of the annexed Railway Personnel Training and Qualifications Regulations other than section 23 and on the recommendation of the President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada with respect to that section 23, makes the annexed Railway Personnel Training and Qualifications Regulations under

(a) subsections 18(1)^{footnote a} and 37(1)^{footnote b} of the Railway Safety Act ^{footnote c}; and
(b) subsection 11(1) of the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act ^{footnote d}.

Railway Personnel Training and Qualifications Regulations

General

Non-application

1 These Regulations, other than subsections 2(5) and (6), do not apply in respect of a person who carries out the duties of a position listed in subsection 2(1) if the person

(a) is a member of a railroad crew that originates from a home terminal in the United States and enters Canada to reach a terminal or turnaround point that is within 24 km (15 miles) of the boundary between Canada and the United States; and
(b) holds a certificate issued by a railway company of the United States authorizing the person to carry out those duties.

Positions critical to safe railway operations

2 (1) For the purposes of these Regulations, all of the following positions are declared to be critical to safe railway operations:

(a) locomotive engineer;
(b) conductor;
(c) transfer hostler;
(d) yard person;
(e) remote control locomotive operator;
(f) rail traffic controller.

Requirement to hold certificate

(2) A railway company must ensure that a person who carries out the duties of a position listed in subsection (1) holds a certificate issued under these Regulations authorizing the person to carry out the duties of the position.

Less than two years’ experience

(3) Subject to subsection (4), a railway company must ensure that the holder of a certificate for a position listed in subsection (1) and who has carried out the duties of the position for less than two years in total is able, while carrying out their duties, to contact a person who holds a certificate for the same position and who has carried out the relevant duties for at least two consecutive years.

Exception

(4) Subsection (3) does not apply in respect of a certificate holder who is a locomotive engineer on board a passenger train if there are at least two locomotive engineers on board.

Requirement to possess certificate

(5) A certificate holder must have their certificate in their possession, in paper or electronic format, while they carry out their duties.

Requirement to produce certificate

(6) A certificate holder must produce the certificate at the request of any person who is designated to enforce or administer the Railway Safety Act.

Issuance of certificate

3 (1) Before issuing a certificate to a person for a position listed in subsection 2(1), a railway company must ensure that the person meets the following conditions:

(a) they have completed the knowledge-based training referred to in section 10 and have obtained a mark of at least 80% on the examination referred to in subsection 16(1); and
(b) they have completed the on-the-job training referred to in section 11 and have obtained a mark of at least 80% on the evaluation referred to in subsection 18(1).

Expiry of certificate

(2) The certificate expires on the third anniversary of the day on which it is issued.

Issuance of certificate — presumption

(3) On the day on which these Regulations come into force, a remote control locomotive operator or rail traffic controller is deemed to have met the conditions set out in subsection (1) if the railway company is satisfied that the remote control locomotive operator or rail traffic controller has the skills, qualifications and knowledge set out in the Railway Safety Management System Regulations, 2015 to perform their duties safely.

Previous certificates

(4) A certificate issued under the Railway Employee Qualification Standards Regulations is deemed to have been issued under these Regulations and remains valid until the third anniversary of the day on which it is issued.

Transfer of certificate

4 (1) A railway company must ensure that the holder of a certificate that is issued by another railway company for a position listed in subsection 2(1) is able to carry out their new duties safely.

Validity of certificate

(2) If the railway company is satisfied that the certificate holder is able to carry out their new duties safely, the certificate remains valid until its expiry date.

Renewal of certificate

5 (1) A railway company may renew a certificate for a position listed in subsection 2(1) if

(a) the certificate holder has completed the renewal training referred to in section 15;
(b) the certificate holder has obtained a mark of at least 80% on the examination referred to in subsection 16(1) and the evaluation referred to in subsection 18(1); and
(c) the certificate is still valid or has been expired for no longer than 12 months.

Expiry of certificate

(2) The renewed certificate expires on the third anniversary of the day on which it is renewed.

Non-exercise of duties

6 If a person has not, for at least 12 months, carried out the duties of a position listed in subsection 2(1) for which they hold a certificate, that person cannot resume those duties unless the railway company renews their certificate in accordance with section 5.

Training

General

Training program

7 A railway company must establish and implement a training program designed to ensure the safe exercise of duties of the positions listed in subsection 2(1) that meets the requirements of sections 10 to 14 and that includes crew resource management, including threat and error management, interpersonal communication, situational awareness, leadership, teamwork, problem solving, decision making and emergency situations.

Training requirement

8 A railway company must ensure that a person who holds a position listed in subsection 2(1) receives training in accordance with these Regulations.

Instructors — knowledge-based training

9 (1) A railway company must ensure that, before an instructor provides the knowledge-based training referred to in section 10, the instructor meets the following conditions:

(a) they have completed the same training within the previous five years and have obtained a mark of at least 90% on the latest examination administered to them under subsection 16(1);
(b) they have completed any other training required by these Regulations to carry out the duties for which they will provide the training; and
(c) they have completed instructor qualification training provided by the railway company.

Instructors — on-the-job training

(2) A railway company must ensure that, before an instructor provides the on-the-job training referred to in section 11, the instructor meets the following conditions:

(a) they hold a certificate for the position for which they will provide the training;
(b) they have completed the most recent version of the on-the-job training referred to in section 11 and have obtained a mark of at least 90% on the latest evaluation administered to them under subsection 18(1);
(c) they have carried out the duties for which they will provide the training for at least three consecutive months in the area where the training is provided;
(d) they have at least two years’ experience in carrying out the duties for which they will provide the training; and
(e) they have completed instructor qualification training provided by the railway company.

Instructors — familiarization training

(3) A railway company must ensure that, before an instructor provides the familiarization training referred to in section 13, the instructor meets the conditions set out in subsection (2).

Exception

(4) A railway company may authorize up to two persons who do not meet the conditions set out in subsections (1) to (3) to provide knowledge-based, on-the-job or familiarization training if they are responsible for the development of the training and related examinations and evaluations.

Initial Training

Knowledge-based training

10 (1) The knowledge-based training must include the subjects that the person needs to know to carry out the duties of their position safely, including the subjects set out in any of columns 1 to 6 of the schedule marked with an “X” under the heading that corresponds to the position.

Training content

(2) The knowledge-based training must also include

(a) the requirements of the instruments listed in subsection 10(1) of the Railway Safety Management System Regulations, 2015;
(b) any federal legislation that may affect railway safety; and
(c) any of the railway company’s procedures, standards, instructions, bulletins or other internal documents that may affect railway safety.

On-the-job training

11 The on-the-job training must

(a) be sufficient to ensure that the person acquires the knowledge and skills required to carry out their duties safely; and
(b) include a practical component that allows the person to learn the duties of their position during the carrying out of tasks, evaluated in accordance with a defined performance scale.

Continuing Training

Change to training elements

12 A railway company must ensure that continuing training is provided to a certificate holder as soon as feasible if there is a change to any of the elements of the knowledge-based training or the on-the-job training.

Familiarization Training

Familiarization training

13 (1) A railway company must ensure that familiarization training is provided to a certificate holder before the certificate holder carries out their duties for the first time.

Training content

(2) The familiarization training must include

(a) the handling of railway equipment;
(b) the application of a railway company’s operating rules and special instructions;
(c) in respect of the area where the certificate holder is to carry out their duties,
- (i) the topographic features, and
- (ii) the physical characteristics of the railway work, including any grade crossings, grades and curves in a line of railway; and
(d) at least one practice trip carried out by the person in their designated area, using the railway equipment to be operated.

Training related to area

14 A railway company must ensure that the familiarization training is provided to a certificate holder who has not carried out their duties within the previous 12 months in the area to which they are assigned. The training must be provided before the certificate holder carries out their duties in that area.

Certificate Renewal Training

Training

15 A railway company must ensure that knowledge-based training that meets the requirements of section 10 is provided to a certificate holder before the renewal of their certificate.

Examinations and Evaluations

Knowledge-based examination

16 (1) Subject to subsection (2), a railway company must ensure that an examination is administered as part of the knowledge-based training referred to in sections 10 and 15 to determine whether the person has the knowledge required to carry out their duties safely.

Exception

(2) A certificate holder who takes the renewal training referred to in section 15 is not required to undergo the examination if they successfully complete, no more than six months before the certificate’s expiry date, a competency test to ensure that they have the required knowledge and skills to carry out their duties safely.

Examiners — correction

17 (1) The railway company must ensure that an examiner

(a) corrects the examination referred to in subsection 16(1) and gives a mark;
(b) gives a mark of 80% or higher only if the examiner is satisfied that the person has sufficient knowledge to carry out their duties safely; and
(c) completes, signs and provides the railway company with a document indicating the mark given.

Qualifications of examiner

(2) The railway company must ensure that, before an examiner carries out their duties, the examiner has completed, within the previous five years, the knowledge-based training referred to in section 10 and has obtained a mark of at least 90% on the latest examination administered to them under subsection 16(1).

Exception

(3) The railway company may authorize up to two persons who do not meet the conditions set out in subsection (2) to carry out the duties of an examiner if they are responsible for the development of the knowledge-based training and related examinations.

On-the-job evaluation

18 (1) A railway company must ensure that an evaluator conducts an evaluation as part of the on-the-job training referred to in section 11 to determine whether the person has the required knowledge and skills to carry out their duties safely.

Evaluation

(2) The railway company must ensure that the evaluator

(a) evaluates the person’s knowledge and skills and gives a mark;
(b) gives a mark of 80% or higher only if the evaluator is satisfied that the person has the required knowledge and skills to carry out their duties safely; and
(c) completes, signs and provides the railway company with a document indicating the mark given.

Qualifications of evaluator

(3) The railway company must ensure that, before an evaluator carries out their duties, the evaluator

(a) holds a certificate for the position for which the evaluator is conducting a knowledge and skills evaluation; and
(b) has obtained a mark of at least 90% on the latest examination administered to them under subsection (1).

Use of simulator

19 A railway company must not use a simulator as the only means of conducting an on-the-job evaluation.

Records

Training record

20 (1) A railway company must create a training record for each person who takes the training and undergoes the examinations and evaluations required under these Regulations and make the record available to the Minister on reasonable notice given by the Minister.

Record keeping

(2) The railway company must keep the record for at least six years after the day on which it is created.

Bargaining Agents

Establishment of training program

21 (1) A railway company must

(a) before it establishes a training program, consult with the bargaining agents representing the employees who are affected by the program; and
(b) before it implements the program, inform those bargaining agents.

Changes to training program

(2) Before the railway company makes any changes to the training program that relate to railway safety, it must consult with the bargaining agents representing the employees who are affected by the program and inform those agents before the changes are implemented.

Exception

(3) However, a railway company may make changes to the program on a temporary basis before consulting with the bargaining agents representing the employees if failure to make changes without delay could result in a threat to the safety of any person, property or to the environment.

No bargaining agent

22 If there is no bargaining agent, a railway company must consult or inform any affected employees or a representative selected by those employees with respect to the establishment of the training program or any changes to it.

Consequential Amendment to the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Regulations

23 Subparagraph 6(b)(iii) of the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Regulations ^{footnote 1} is replaced by the following:

(iii) in the case of an authorization issued under the Railway Personnel Training and Qualifications Regulations, successfully completed any applicable examination and evaluation required under those Regulations that ensure that the holder is competent to perform their required duties.

Coming into Force

Second anniversary of publication

24 These Regulations come into force on the second anniversary of the day on which they are published in the Canada Gazette, Part II.

SCHEDULE

(Subsection 10(1))

Knowledge-Based Training
Item	Subject	Column 1 Locomotive Engineer	Column 2 Conductor	Column 3 Transfer Hostler	Column 4 Yard Person	Column 5 Remote Control Locomotive Operator	Column 6 Rail Traffic Controller
1	Railway Company’s Operating Rules and Special Instructions	X	X	X	X	X	X
2	Dangerous Goods	X	X		X	X
3	Train Marshalling	X	X		X	X
4	Air Brake Systems and Tests	X	X		X	X
5	Locomotive Operation	X		X		X
6	Train Handling	X				X
7	Freight Car and Train Inspections	X	X		X	X
8	Passenger Evacuation Procedures		X

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations or the Order.)

Executive summary

Issues: The regulatory regime for federally regulated railway workers has not been updated since the Railway Employee Qualification Standards Regulations (REQSR) came into force in 1987. Since that time, there has been a reduction in average crew size, an increase in freight volumes, accelerated training programs, and the broad implementation of new positions critical to safe railway operations (e.g. remote control locomotive operators and railway traffic controllers). The REQSR do not reflect the significant operational changes that have occurred. In addition to the operational changes, it has become clear that employees with less than two years of experience working in a position critical to safe railway operations are at a heightened risk of injury compared to those with more significant on-the-job work experience. The REQSR also do not require crew resource management (CRM) training to be integrated into employee training as is required in the aviation and marine transportation sectors.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has also made two recommendations and issued one advisory letter on REQSR related to positions critical to safe railway operations and CRM.

Description: The Railway Personnel Training and Qualifications Regulations (the Regulations) will strengthen railway training and certification standards to ensure that workers acquire knowledge, skills, and on-the-job training (OJT), and that they are adequately supervised. These measures are intended to mitigate the risk of workplace injuries, improve the safety of railway operations, and ultimately reduce rail incidents and accidents.

The Regulations will include

the addition of two new positions critical to safe railway operations (i.e. remote control locomotive operators [RCLOs] and rail traffic controllers [RTCs]);
a requirement for railway companies to ensure employees with less than two years of experience in a position critical to safe railway operations are able to have contact with employees who have more than two years of relevant experience, in order to help ensure a newly certified employee has an identified experienced certificate holder that they can engage with for guidance;
the establishment of new types of training: continuing training, familiarization training (e.g. training related to the specific operating environment), and renewal training;
the integration of CRM into training; and
a requirement to have a training record for each person who takes the training and undergoes the examinations and evaluations required under the Regulations.

A consequential amendment to the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Regulations is required, as they currently reference the REQSR and must be updated to refer to these Regulations once they come into force.

Finally, the objective is for these Regulations to replace the existing REQSR, which will be repealed by Order from the Governor in Council.

Rationale: Since the complexity of railway operations has increased over the years, achieving a high level of safety is more dependent than ever on the skills and knowledge of employees. Crew members must be capable of successfully interacting with each other, their equipment, and their environment to effectively manage threats, errors, and unexpected conditions that may be encountered. Training requirements need to align with operational changes over time such as decreased crew onboard and the use of new technology in train yards, e.g. remote control locomotive operators.

In addition, the TSB has been recommending amendments to the railway employees’ training requirements since 2018.

Railway companies will incur costs associated with updating and developing their training programs as well as meeting the contact requirement. The Government of Canada will also incur costs associated with guidance materials, inspector training and additional inspection activities. The total net cost associated with the Regulations is estimated to be $31.77 million (present value in 2024 Canadian dollars, discounted to the base year of 2026 at a 7% discount rate) between 2026 and 2037.

Although the safety benefits associated with the Regulations are not monetized due to limited data, it is estimated that an annual reduction of 35 (27.45%) in-scope rail occurrences (e.g. an accident or incident associated with the operation of rolling stock on a railway and estimated to be directly linked to an employee’s or crew members’ lack of training or experience) will offset the costs. Even though benefits could not be monetized, it is expected that the qualitative benefits associated with the Regulations will outweigh the monetized costs.

The one-for-one rule will not apply, as the Regulations will not result in an incremental change in the administrative burden on business. With the repeal of the REQSR, and their replacement by these Regulations, there will be no net increase or decrease in regulatory titles.

It is expected that 13 small businesses will incur net costs, which are estimated to be $4.04 million over the 12-year analytical period.

Issues

The Railway Employee Qualification Standards Regulations (REQSR) have not been updated since they came into force in 1987 under the authority of earlier legislation, the National Transportation Act and the Railway Act, which were consolidated and replaced by the Canada Transportation Act and Railway Safety Act. Significant operational changes (e.g. crew size, freight size, accelerated training programs) in the rail industry have occurred over the past 35 years. Given the significant changes associated with the railway operating environment, employees do not necessarily have sufficient OJT and/or supervision as they advance from junior positions into more senior positions. Likewise, training and supervision standards are inconsistent across the industry.

In addition, railway employees in positions critical to safe railway operations are not always receiving sufficient continuing training on critical changes affecting railway safety, such as new equipment, internal procedures, regulations and exceptions.

Positions critical to safe railway operations include any railway position directly engaged in the operation of trains on main track or yard service or engaged in rail traffic control. As technology in the rail industry has evolved, new positions have been created. There is now a need to identify remote control locomotive operators and rail traffic controllers as positions critical to safe railway operations, since they have a direct impact on the movement of locomotives.

The REQSR do not include a CRM component despite the fact that CRM is an industry standard for aviation and marine transportation. CRM seeks to limit or eliminate human errors by recognizing the importance of cognitive and interpersonal skills, thereby improving safety. CRM targets a crew’s skills, abilities, attitudes, communication, situational awareness, problem-solving, and teamwork to ensure that crews successfully interact with each other, their equipment, and their environment to effectively manage threats, errors, and unexpected conditions that may be encountered.

There are no provisions in the REQSR that require a newly qualified employee to be able to contact an experienced employee. Investigations led by the TSB of past railway accidents and near-accidents found that “human factors” such as poor decision-making may play a prominent role in incidents that threaten the safety of railway employees and Canadians more generally. A TSB investigation into a 2016 incident in Ontario involving the uncontrolled movement of 74 rail cars (72 loaded and two empty) for about three miles revealed that two junior employees were paired to perform the rail-car securing and operating duties. Although both employees were qualified, they had limited experience performing these duties independently. While the incident did not result in any injuries, derailment, or release of dangerous goods, the TSB concluded that assigning two relatively inexperienced employees to safety-critical rail-car securement and operating activities was a contributing factor to the uncontrolled movement. The TSB also noted that several gaps remained in the existing regulatory framework related to training and qualification standards.

Following the investigation, in June 2018, the TSB recommended (R18-02) that the REQSR be updated to address gaps for railway employees in positions critical to safe railway operations related to training qualifications, requalification standards and regulatory oversight. The TSB contended that, if gaps in the current REQSR were not addressed, railway employees in positions critical to safe railway operations may not be sufficiently trained or experienced to perform their duties safely. Additionally, the TSB was concerned that without amendments to the REQSR, Transport Canada (TC) may not be able to conduct effective regulatory oversight and enforcement of training programs.

In a Safety Advisory Letter (06/23) following a fatal occurrence (R23D0045) in April 2023 involving a conductor and a conductor trainee in Rivière-des-Prairies, in Montreal, Quebec, the TSB encouraged TC to communicate with railway companies to ensure that their current training programs contain requirements for the supervision of new employees during field training, and that these requirements be implemented on a systematic and ongoing basis.

In August 2022, the TSB recommended (R22-05) that the REQSR be updated to require Canadian railway companies to develop and implement modern initial and recurring CRM training as part of the certification training for railway operating employees.

Finally, it should be noted that the REQSR were made under the authority of now repealed legislation, as mentioned above, that was replaced by the Canada Transportation Act and the Railway Safety Act (RSA), although the REQSR are not aligned with the RSA. In 2006, the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities initiated the RSA review and found that the REQSR did not have provisions for the certification of railway operating employees by TC. To address this gap, the railway industry, including the Railway Association of Canada (RAC), drafted the Rules Respecting Minimum Qualification Standards for Railway Employees. These were submitted to TC for approval in 2009. However, for the Rules to be in effect, the REQSR needed to be repealed first. This course of action was not pursued, and the REQSR were never repealed. Therefore, for consistency and alignment with the current legislative framework and related regulations, an order by the Governor in Council will repeal the REQSR, and these Regulations, made under the authority of the RSA, will replace them.

Background

The REQSR, established in 1987, currently set requirements related to the training and qualifications of railway employees.

Under the REQSR, railway companies are required to provide training to employees for the purposes of performing the duties associated with each occupational category. Training programs must cover all the subjects/items required for a person to qualify to perform the duties. Railway companies are also required to evaluate, through proper examination and evaluation with an 80% passing mark, if employees meet qualification requirements for their occupational category. Railway companies will issue a certificate (a wallet-sized card) to qualified employees. In addition, to ensure that railway employees remain qualified to perform their duties, railway companies will have employees in an occupational category re-examined every three years. Furthermore, the REQSR include a requirement for railway companies to notify the Railway Transport Committee (the Committee) of the Canadian Transport Commission, now the Canadian Transportation Agency, of changes to examination formats or methods of assessing on-the-job competence used by the company, and to submit to the Committee, on a yearly basis, a comprehensive report on its employee training programs. This requirement is no longer necessary, as the practice is outdated and TC is of the view that inspection of certification is sufficient to confirm compliance without a requirement to also submit a report.

Training represents an opportunity for railway companies to reduce accidents caused by human factors. Human factors is a term that encompasses all the elements contributing to a workplace accident that can be directly attributed to operators, workers, or other personnel. Human factors can include wilful violations of safety rules as well as inattention, fatigue, and intoxication.

CRM is a human factors (PDF) training process that has been employed in the commercial aviation industry for over 25 years. According to the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), “CRM training focuses on situation awareness, communication skills, teamwork, task allocation and decision-making within a comprehensive framework of standard operating procedures.” Since its adoption in commercial aviation, CRM has been credited with contributing to a marked decrease in accidents caused by human factors because it ensures that all levels of training include threat and error management, interpersonal communication, situational awareness, leadership, teamwork, problem-solving and decision-making.

Recent statistics from the TSB have shown that factors assigned to non-main-track collisions were mostly human factor-related (86%) in 2022. The improper positioning of movements and handling of switches was assigned most often (54%) as a factor. Meanwhile, action-related factors also accounted for 25% of assigned factors in 2020 and 51% of all assigned factors for non-main-track derailment accidents. These factors include departure from prescribed procedures, such as failure to protect or failure to secure.

According to the Employment and Social Development Canada’s 2021 Annual Report — Occupational Injuries in the Canadian Federal Jurisdiction (PDF), fatal injury frequency rate (FIFR) is defined as the reported fatal injuries per one billion hours worked. “Higher… FIFR values is an indication of higher risk within a specific unit of analysis (industry sector, organization, workplace, etc.) based on factors outside of hours worked, such as the nature of the work itself… Given the small number of fatal injuries reported to the Labour Program each year compared to the number of disabling injuries, any change in this number will have an impact on both an individual sector’s FIFR and the federal jurisdiction FIFR. This results in fluctuating FIFR values over time.” Every effort still needs to be made to mitigate the risk associated with the rail work environment. Government intervention is needed to ensure that the training and qualification regime reflects modern railway operations to follow standardized prescriptive training approaches like other modes of transportation (e.g. aviation and marine).

Based on information available online and a survey conducted by TC with railway companies, some industry practices were found to already exceed the existing requirements under the REQSR to adapt to industry changes over the years. All railway companies that responded to the survey indicated they already offer employees familiarization trips within the territory in which they will operate in addition to the knowledge training and OJT required by the REQSR. The Regulations will formalize these practices and make the requirements consistent for all railway companies by setting a minimum requirement for training.

Objective

The Regulations will update the training and qualification regime to reflect the significant changes that have occurred in railway operations since the current regulations came into force in 1987. The objective of the Regulations is to enhance crew safety and the safety of railway operations more broadly through robust training and ensuring less experienced employees are able to contact more experienced employees for all positions that have been declared to be critical to safe railway operations.

Description

These Regulations will replace the REQSR, which will be repealed by order. The Regulations will expand the positions critical to safe railway operations that are subject to training requirements and expand and update training and certification requirements for all positions critical to safe railway operations. Training requirements will be applicable to all persons occupying positions critical to safe railway operations, regardless of whether they are an operational employee, a contractor or a management employee. The Regulations will also require a railway company to ensure that less experienced employees are able to contact a more experienced employee for all positions critical to safe railway operations. However, there will be an exception for certificate holders who are locomotive engineers on board a passenger train if there are at least two locomotive engineers on board. The reason being that their crews typically consist of two certified locomotive engineers rather than the more common pairing of a conductor and a locomotive engineer, which is seen in freight operations. Additionally, the Regulations will no longer require railway companies to notify the Canadian Transportation Agency, formerly the Committee, of changes to examination formats or methods of assessing on-the-job competence used by the company, or to submit a comprehensive report on its employee training programs.

The Regulations include a consequential amendment to the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Regulations (FTLMCR) to update references to the REQSR. Amending the FTLMCR will maintain alignment between the two regulatory regimes, support the recognition of railway personnel certifications across jurisdictions, and ensure the intent of the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act (FTLMCA) to facilitate labour mobility and reduce internal trade barriers.

It should be noted that the repeal of the REQSR does not appear in the text of the Regulations, as it has been drafted as a separate instrument, the Order Repealing the Railway Employee Qualification Standards Regulations. However, the repeal is covered under this Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement, as it is considered an integral part of replacing the RESQR with these Regulations.

Positions critical to safe railway operations

Positions critical to safe railway operations include any railway position directly engaged in the operation of trains in main track or yard service or engaged in rail traffic control. The REQSR include training requirements for four positions critical to safety (locomotive engineer, conductor, yard person, transfer hostler). The Regulations will expand the list of positions by adding remote control locomotive operators and rail traffic controllers.

The designation of the positions critical to safe railway operations is required to outline the training regime that applies to them. As some railway employees may perform multiple duties across different positions critical to safe railway operations, the Regulations will allow employees to hold multiple certificates if they have received the appropriate training.

The Regulations will also apply to any person (e.g. a contractor or supervisor) that performs any of the duties associated with a position critical to safe railway operations.

Table 1: Positions critical to safe railway operations (REQSR vs. Regulations)
Positions critical to safe railway operations	REQSR	Regulations
Locomotive engineers	X	X
Conductors	X	X
Yard person	X	X
Transfer hostler	X	X
Remote control locomotive operators	N/A	New
Rail traffic controllers	N/A	New

Contact for less experienced employees

Under the Regulations, a railway company will require a newly certified employee performing the duties associated with a position critical to safe railway operations to be able to contact a more experienced certificate holder until they have acquired at least two years of experience (i.e. have carried out relevant duties for at least two consecutive years). This would provide a newly certified employee an identified experienced certificate holder that they can contact for guidance.

The experienced certificate holder available for contact with a person (or persons) who has less than two years of experience will need to have carried out the relevant duties for at least two consecutive years. This requirement will help to ensure that newly certified employees (i.e. less than two years since their certificate was issued) can gain valuable OJT experience, thereby helping to reduce and prevent unsafe practices and non-compliance.

Training requirements

The Regulations will outline training required to obtain certification for a position critical to safe railway operations. A person holding a position critical to safe railway operations is someone whose job involves activities that, if not performed correctly, could lead to serious harm or injury to themselves or others. The Regulations aim to formalize practices used within the rail industry to promote consistency across railway companies.

The Regulations will also introduce some new training requirements for positions critical to safe railway operations, as outlined in the table below.

Table 2: Training requirements (REQSR vs. Regulations)
Types of training	REQSR	Regulations
Initial training (includes the three elements below)	X	X
Knowledge-based training	X	X
On-the-job training (OJT)	X	X
Familiarization training	N/A	New
Continuing training	N/A	New
Integrating crew resource management (CRM) components into all training	N/A	New
Non-exercise of duties training	N/A	New
Renewal training	N/A	New
Transfer of certificate (from one railway company to another)	N/A	New

The initial training in the REQSR consists of knowledge-based training and OJT. The Regulations will build on existing requirements in the REQSR by adding familiarization training to the initial training requirements.

Knowledge-based training provides the person the knowledge to carry out their duties safely, including knowledge of applicable instruments, federal legislation, and any of the railway company’s procedures, standards, instructions, bulletins, or other internal documents that may affect railway safety. Instructors can be employees from the railway company, or training service providers qualified by each railway company. Among other requirements, instructors will be required to have completed the training and have obtained a mark of at least 90% on their most recent examination every five years. The subjects, which are outlined in the Regulations, include federal legislation and the railway company’s procedures, standards, instructions, and bulletins that may affect railway safety. The passing mark will be set at 80%. For reasons related to their creation of the knowledge-based training, along with the creation of evaluation techniques, the Regulations will also provide an exception from certain knowledge-based requirements of this section for persons who are responsible for the development of the training, evaluation and examination programs.

Once knowledge-based training has been completed successfully, the person will take OJT to gain experience working in situations very similar to those they will encounter on a daily basis. OJT is generally provided to employees directly at their worksite. OJT will ensure that the person has the practical, experiential skills to be able to carry out their duties safely. OJT provides a hands-on component that allows the candidate to learn the duties of their position while completing job tasks measured against a defined level of performance.

The analysis conducted by TC considered the role of simulators for evaluation purposes and concluded that while simulators can replicate many scenarios, they will not capture every nuance of real-world conditions. In addition, it was determined that some skills and behaviours are best evaluated in real-world settings where stress and unpredictability play a role. Because of this, simulators will not be permitted as the primary method to perform an evaluation. However, they may be used to support an evaluation.

The familiarization training will provide a person with the understanding of key elements of the territory in which they operate. For example, topographic features, physical characteristics of the railway work (e.g. grade and curves), equipment handling, and at least one trip by the person in their designated area using the railway equipment to be operated.

The Regulations will also require railway companies to provide continuing training to certificate holders as soon as feasible if there is a change to the elements of the knowledge-based training or the OJT. This requirement will ensure that certificate holders are up to date on changes and training since they were last trained. Further to this, railway companies must provide renewal training for recertification. This includes a knowledge-based component and an OJT component and can be administered to employees whose certificate has expired within the last 12 months.

The Regulations will include requirements for CRM elements in all training types mentioned above. Railway companies will be required to ensure that all levels of training include threat and error management, interpersonal communication, situational awareness, leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, decision-making and emergency situations.

Railway companies will have the flexibility to develop their own training programs tailored to the unique nature of their operations. To assist railway companies in this task, TC developed and shared a guidance document in May 2023, entitled Best practices for crew resource management training.

Training record

The Regulations will require railway companies to create a training record for each person who takes the training and undergoes the required examinations and evaluations. These records will need to be made available to the Minister upon request.

Training records will need to be kept for at least six years after they are created. This differs from the current REQSR, which requires companies to retain the records during employment.

Certificates

The Regulations will include issuance criteria for a certificate. The issuance criteria will specify that, to issue a certificate, the railway company will need to ensure that the candidate has completed the knowledge-based examination and the OJT evaluation and has obtained a passing mark of at least 80% for each. The Regulations will continue to require certificate holders to produce their certificate on request by any person who is designated to enforce or administer the Railway Safety Act; however, the Regulations will not prescribe the format of the certification. This will allow railway companies to provide alternative certificate formats such as electronic certificates to be issued and stored on devices. Certificates will be validated against the person’s training record, including through routine inspections and other verification methods conducted by TC.

Finally, the Regulations will maintain the existing requirement in the REQSR that evaluators and examiners need to have received a mark of 90% in their respective areas to be designated as evaluators and examiners by the railway company, with the exception of up to two persons that are responsible for the development of the training and its examination and evaluation.

Renewal of certificate

The Regulations will stipulate that a certificate expires three years after its date of issuance. This requirement will be the same as the REQSR. If a certificate expires before being renewed, the employee will need to be recertified before resuming their duties, as per the requirements in the Regulations.

Non-exercise of duties (return to work)

If a person certified in a position critical to safe railway operations has been absent from their position for at least 12 months and returns to work, the railway company will need to renew the employee’s certificate by verifying that the person still possesses the knowledge, skills and abilities to carry out their duties. Depending on the results of the verification, training may need to be provided before the person resumes their duties. In all cases, familiarization training must be provided before the employee carries out their duty in the area which they are assigned.

Transfer of certificate

Railway companies hiring new employees that were issued a certificate under a different railway company will be responsible for ensuring that the certificate holder is able to perform all the duties of their new position safely. Depending on the specific/unique responsibilities of the position, the rail company may need to provide additional training to the certificate holder. As an example, a locomotive engineer could require additional familiarization training if they were working in different operating conditions even if their knowledge-based training remains valid.

Regulatory development

Pre-Canada Gazette, Part I consultation summary

TC consulted affected stakeholders, including railway companies, unions representing railway employees, the TSB, Employment and Social Development Canada, and internal stakeholders. Consultation on proposed changes to modernize the REQSR was posted on TC’s Let’s Talk Transportation site on November 15, 2021. Stakeholders had 60 days to provide their feedback.

During the consultation period, TC heard from Ontario Northland, Western Canadian Short Line Railway Association, the Railway Association of Canada (RAC), VIA Rail Canada, various unions, Technical Safety BC, and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. These responses came in the form of online comments, meetings and written submissions. Key themes of these consultations included the scope of application, flexibility of operational complexity, training requirements, pairing requirement, CRM, instructor and evaluator qualifications and the examination approval of training programs. TC considered all stakeholder comments and, where possible, made amendments to the regulatory proposal. A “What We Heard” Report was posted online summarizing the feedback.

Prepublication in the Canada Gazette

On December 14, 2024, TC prepublished the proposed Regulations in Canada Gazette, Part 1, for a 30-day comment period. During the 30-day comment period, TC received nearly 125 comments from some 20 stakeholders. This included railway companies, labour representatives, industry associations, safety advocates, and members of the public. Industry stakeholders felt the 30-day comment period was insufficient. Therefore, TC met with VIA Rail Canada on two separate occasions and with RAC and their members on three separate occasions following the 30-day comment period to provide an opportunity for the industry to further elaborate on their comments and clarify their position.

A thematic summary of comments received follows.

Scope of application

Similar to the comments received prior to prepublication in the Canada Gazette, TC heard from labour representatives that they wanted to expand the scope of positions deemed critical to safe railway operations to also include safety-sensitive positions, specifically Maintenance of Way (MOW) employees. Labour representatives also added recommendations to outline functions instead of positions. Based on the comments and the alignment with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), whose regulatory definition of safety-related railroad employee includes: All engineering or MOW employees, including bridge workers, who inspect, install, repair, or maintain track, roadbed, signal and communication systems, TC took this comment under serious consideration. However, under the Railway Safety Act and its railway rules governing positions critical to safe railway operations, the MOW positions fall outside the scope of what can be added, as positions defined as critical to safe railway operations are those

directly engaged in operation of trains or yard service; and
any railway position engaged in rail traffic control.

Consequently, TC did not make add any changes to the list of positions deemed critical to safe railway operations.

Flexibility to reflect varying complexity of operations

During the consultation period, industry associations commented that the requirements in the “Less than two years’ experience” section of the proposed Regulations may not apply to all railway companies in equal measure. Both freight and passenger railways share some common positions critical to safe railway operations. However, the risks, challenges and operating environments affecting those positions can differ significantly. Specifically looking at passenger operations, crews typically consist of two certified locomotive engineers that alternate between the roles of “operating” locomotive engineer and “in-charge” locomotive engineer; employees receive tailored training that reflects these unique circumstances. Commenters expressed that the Regulations may not sufficiently take this into consideration when looking at the “Less than two years’ experience” requirement. For these reasons, TC added provisions to the Regulations to except employees from this requirement when there are at least two locomotive engineers on board for passenger trains.

Additional comments noted that training departments are sometimes led by persons who occasionally have backgrounds rooted primarily in education and not in rail. In addition, those who lead training departments are often experts who have contributed to the development and revision of training materials and would not derive additional value from completing the training and exams they have themselves created. For this reason, the Regulations provide an exception to these requirements for two persons, per company, who are responsible for the development of the training and related examinations and evaluations.

Employee Contact requirements for newly certified employees

Stakeholders expressed mixed reactions to the proposed pairing requirement for less experienced employees. Industry found the language to be misleading, as it conjured up an idea that two people would need to physically work together. TC understands that this would not be possible, and while this was outlined in the guideline documentation distributed to stakeholders, it is recognized that the wording could be further improved. For this reason, the Regulations were amended to replace the term “paired” with “able to contact” an experienced certificate holder. The revised language clarifies that employees with less than two years’ experience must be able to contact an employee who has more than two years’ experience without prescribing the way that method of contact must occur.

To support consistent interpretation and implementation, TC will update related guidance materials to complement the Regulations and clarify expectations regarding acceptable approaches to employee contacts.

Time-based requirements

Following the prepublication of the proposed Regulations, industry commented that the additional time-based requirements set out in paragraphs 10(1)(c), 10(2)(c), 10(2)(d), 15(3)(c), 16(3)(c), and 16(3)(d) were too restrictive. Industry representatives agreed that instructors, examiners, and evaluators should possess at least two years of experience in the position for which they provide training, as well as having performed the relevant duties for a minimum of three consecutive months. However, industry expressed concern that adding the additional requirements for the two years of experience to have occurred within the last five years, and for the three consecutive months to have occurred within the last six months, respectively, were too restrictive. More specifically, noting these requirements could limit operational flexibility, as railway companies could not ensure that they would have the required workforce available to them if that workforce needed to continuously return to work to gain the required knowledge-based and OJT within those time frames. Industry stakeholders also noted that the examiners, instructors and evaluators are among the first to know and experience operational, procedural, and technological changes to the railway industry, as they are responsible for developing training materials for all other personnel. With this in mind, TC removed the additional time requirements of “within five years” and “within six months.”

Summary of stakeholder comments on the cost-benefit analysis

During consultations, stakeholders raised several concerns regarding the cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and specific regulatory requirements. First, industry expressed uncertainty about the proposed pairing requirement, interpreting it as necessitating the physical presence of an experienced employee alongside a less experienced one. Second, stakeholders questioned the validity of the CBA, noting that the assumption that “occurrences with a publicly available investigation report on the TSB website constitute a representative sample of all occurrences” may overestimate benefits, as TSB investigations are not randomly selected and certain types of occurrences are disproportionately represented. Third, concerns were raised about the requirement that the experienced employee must have performed relevant duties for at least two consecutive years within the last five years.

In response, TC is clarifying the intent of the pairing requirement by replacing the term “paired” with “able to contact” and will issue guidance to explain that the expectation is for non-experienced employees to have access — either in person or virtually — to an experienced employee for advice, rather than requiring constant physical presence. This change in terminology does not alter the original intent or the assumptions used in the CBA; therefore, the CBA remains unchanged. The assumptions underlying the break-even analysis remain the same. While acknowledging that TSB data may not fully represent all occurrences, TC considers these reports the most reliable source available and will include a note in the RIAS to reflect this limitation. Finally, TC amended the Regulations to remove the requirement that the experienced employee must have carried out relevant duties for two consecutive years within the last five years. As the CBA at prepublication did not account for any incremental impacts associated with this requirement, its removal does not affect the estimated costs or benefits at final publication.

Indigenous engagement, consultation and modern treaty obligations

Prior to Canada Gazette, Part I, prepublication, an assessment under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act was completed in accordance with the Cabinet Directive on the Federal Approach to Modern Treaty Implementation to determine whether the Regulations are likely to give rise to modern treaty obligations.

The assessment examined the geographical scope and subject matter of the Regulations in relation to modern treaties in effect and indicated no anticipated direct, indirect, hidden, and unintended effects on the rights and interests of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples as set out in the United Nations Declaration.

The Regulations are national in scope and will apply to regional railway companies — one of which is Tshiuetin Rail Transportation (TRT), jointly owned by the signatory (Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach) of the Northeastern Quebec Agreement (NEQA) — a modern treaty partner located in the James Bay area in Northern Quebec. TRT provides regular rail service in the community of Schefferville.

Reviewing the information provided in the proposal and consulting treaty obligations as provided in the Modern Treaty Management Environment (MTME), TC did not identify any treaty obligations. However, to maintain the spirit and intent of modern treaties, as indicated at the pre-publication stage, TC engaged with First Nation, Inuit, and Métis communities via the Transport Canada National Indigenous Engagement Opportunities Bulletin. TC also reached out to the Innu Nation of Matimekush-Lac John, the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach, and the Innu-takuaikan Uashat mak Mani-utenam via email to inform of the prepublication of the Regulations in the Canada Gazette, Part I. TC did not receive any input following these engagements.

Instrument choice

Regulations were determined to be the most appropriate instrument to enhance crew safety and reduce rail safety risks associated with human factors. Regulations are needed to prescribe robust requirements for all positions declared to be critical to safe railway operations and to ensure that less experienced employees are routinely in contact with more experienced employees.

As outlined previously, the TSB found that the majority of non-main-track collisions were related to human factors. The TSB has conducted investigations into five occurrences and incidents since 2002, including the fatality of a crew member, that were deemed to be directly related to deficiencies in operating crew training and the related gaps in the REQSR. The TSB concluded that, if safeguards are not established in regulations to ensure that crews are not only qualified, but also possess sufficient operational experience, there would be an increased risk of operational errors and accidents. Likewise, the TSB concluded that, in the absence of regulatory amendments, TC would not be able to conduct effective regulatory oversight and enforcement of training programs for management and unionized operating crews, remote control locomotive operators, rail traffic controllers, and contract trainers, which would, consequently, increase the risk of unsafe train operations.^{footnote 2}

Railway companies have acknowledged that implementing new training techniques and elements, such as CRM, will help to reduce accidents caused by human factors, wilful violations of safety rules, and inattention, fatigue, and intoxication. The Regulations will ensure that recognized training standards and practices are formalized and made consistent for all railway companies.

If the status quo were maintained, training practices would remain out of step with innovation seen in the railway industry. Given the potential harm (e.g. loss of life, property damage, environmental damage) that could result from a rail safety incident, it is important that the Government of Canada ensure that rail companies are providing a consistent level of training through regulations. Non-regulatory options, such as outreach or policy guidelines, would not be sufficient to ensure a minimum level of training across the rail industry because they would not be mandatory or enforceable and, as such, would not ensure that all railway companies apply a consistent standard.

Regulatory analysis

The Regulations will create a safer work environment for railway operators by addressing gaps in training, qualification, and re-qualification requirements. They will also formalize some existing training and practices in the rail industry. In addition, to respond to the TSB’s recommendations, the Regulations will integrate the CRM components into all types of training and introduce the employee contact requirement. The regulatory oversight regime will now apply to anyone performing duties normally carried out by someone in a position declared critical to safe railway operations, including contractors and supervisors.

Following comments received during the prepublication of the Regulations in the Canada Gazette, Part I, TC has revised some requirements as explained above. As a result, the cost-benefit analysis was also updated to reflect these changes.

The change to the employee contact requirement provides an exception for railway companies that use a train crew consisting of two locomotive engineers. At present, this exception will apply to VIA Rail, whose crews typically follow this model. However, it will also apply to any other railway company that adopts this configuration in the future that transports passengers.
The introduction of an exception of up to two persons, per company, who are responsible for developing and providing knowledge-based training, OJT or familiarization training, from having to complete the knowledge-based examination every five years, will generate a cost savings of up to $14,303 for affected railway companies. Details of the monetized savings are described in the “Benefits” section.
The cost-benefit analysis was also refined using updated data and the revised coming-into-force date.
The elimination of the time frame condition on the requirement that a certificate holder available for contact by a new employee with less than two years of experience must have obtained their certificate (i.e. within the preceding five years) will provide more flexibility to railway companies. However, as this proposed requirement did not impact the monetized estimates in the cost-benefit analysis conducted for the prepublication of the Regulations in the Canada Gazette, Part I, its removal does not impact results in the cost-benefit analysis at final publication.

Overall, it is estimated that the Regulations will result in total net costs of $31.77 million (present value in 2024 Canadian dollars, discounted to the base year of 2026 at 7% discount rate) between 2026 and 2037.

A cost-benefit analysis report containing the complete list of assumptions and sources is available upon request.

Analytical framework

The cost-benefit analysis of the Regulations is conducted in accordance with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s (TBS) Policy on Cost-Benefit Analysis. The scope of this analysis is at the societal level and the impacts attributed to Canadians. Where possible, impacts are quantified and monetized, with only the direct costs and benefits for stakeholders being considered in the cost-benefit analysis.

Benefits and costs associated with the Regulations are assessed by comparing the baseline scenario against the regulatory scenario. The baseline scenario depicts what is likely to happen in the future if the Government of Canada does not implement the Regulations. The regulatory scenario provides information on the intended outcomes as a result of the Regulations.

The Regulations will provide a more comprehensive and robust training and qualification regime by replacing the existing REQSR.

The time frame used in the analysis is 12 years from 2026 to 2037, with the year 2026 being when the Regulations will be registered. This time frame captures the compliance transition period of two years after the publication date of the Regulations. Note that the formula used to calculate the discounted and annualized values under the Cost-benefit statement and the small business lens follows the methodology prescribed in TBS’s Cost-Benefit Analysis Guide for Regulatory Proposals where impacts occurring in the first period are undiscounted.

Unless otherwise stated, benefits and costs are estimated in present values expressed in 2024 Canadian dollars, discounted to the base year 2026 at a 7% discount rate, for the period between 2026 and 2037.

Affected stakeholders

The Regulations will apply to all railway companies operating on federally regulated tracks in Canada and any person performing any of the duties normally carried out by someone occupying a position declared critical to safe railway operations.

A total of 21 Canadian active railway companies are captured in this analysis. In addition, five United States-based companies are also expected to be impacted. However, they are not included in the analysis in accordance with Canada’s Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) Guide for Regulatory Proposals.

The Regulations will apply to the following positions: locomotive engineer, conductor, transfer hostler, yard person, remote control locomotive operator and rail traffic controller.

Baseline and regulatory scenarios

Baseline scenario

Under the baseline scenario, railway companies subject to the REQSR would be required to provide training to employees so they can perform the duties associated with each occupational category. Training programs would cover all the subjects and items required for a person to qualify to perform their duties. Railway companies would assess employees through examinations and evaluations to determine whether they meet qualification requirements, and then issue certifications. Under the REQSR, training requirements would apply only to four positions declared critical to safe railway operations: locomotive engineer, conductor, yard foreman, and transfer hostler. Finally, the REQSR requires railway companies to notify the Committee of any changes to examination formats and evaluations, and to submit an annual comprehensive report on their employee training programs. However, railway companies have not been submitting their comprehensive report for more than 10 years, and TC has not taken enforcement action. Railway companies would still be required to provide such information upon request during inspection, as per current requirements under the REQSR.

Regulatory scenario

Under the regulatory scenario, the list of positions that are declared critical to safe railway operations will be expanded by including two new additional positions: remote control locomotive operator and rail traffic controllers. Knowledge-based training and OJT requirements will continue to apply, as similar training and requirements will be included in the Regulations. In addition, familiarization training and continuing training will be added to the training requirements, and CRM components will be integrated into each type of training. A certified employee in a position declared critical to safe railway operations with a valid certificate will also be required to complete a non-exercise of duties training if they have not performed their duties for 12 months.

Furthermore, the Regulations will also require railway companies to ensure that any person performing duties associated with positions critical to safe railway operations is able to contact a more experienced employee until they have acquired at least two years of experience. This requirement will provide a newly certified employee with the contact information of an identified experienced certificate holder.

Railway companies will be required to administer a knowledge-based examination to employees whose positions have been declared to be critical to safe railway operations, as well as an evaluation following their OJT. Certificate holders will need to renew their certificate every three years by meeting the requirements for knowledge training and OJT.

Although these types of training will become new regulatory requirements, they are already being provided in practice by many railway companies in a form that meets most of the requirements set out in the Regulations. The two new positions that will be declared critical to safe railway operations already follow the same training requirements as the existing critical positions. Examination, evaluation requirements and certification requirements are also already standard industry practice. Only the CRM training and contact requirement will have an incremental cost impact on railway companies. Instructors will be required to have completed the training and have obtained a mark of at least 90% on their most recent knowledge-based examination every five years. However, the Regulations will allow railway companies to except up to two persons who are responsible for the development of the training and related examinations and evaluations.^{footnote 3}

Some skills and behaviours are best assessed in real-world situations where stress and unpredictability are factors. Since simulators cannot fully replicate all the nuances of actual operational conditions, the Regulations will formalize current practices and prohibit their use for primary evaluation purposes.

Even though TC is not requesting railway companies to notify the Committee of changes to examination formats and evaluations or to submit an annual comprehensive report, the Regulations will formalize the current practice by removing these requirements. Companies will still be required to provide this information upon request by the Minister.

The table below summarizes the differences between the baseline and regulatory scenarios.

Table 3: Baseline and regulatory scenario requirements
Requirements	Baseline scenario	Regulatory scenario	Difference between the baseline and the regulatory scenarios	New actions required under the regulatory scenario
Initial training (which includes the three elements below) Knowledge-based training On-the-job training (OJT) Familiarization training	Initial training includes the Knowledge-based training and On-the-Job Training (OJT). The Familiarization training component is already part of current railway company training.	The Regulations will formalize Familiarization training to the Initial training requirements.	No difference between the baseline and the regulatory scenarios.	No new action required
Continuing training	Under current practices, railway companies are providing to certificate holders the necessary training (under the form of continuing training) if there is any change to the knowledge-based training or the on-the-job training elements.	Continuing training will be formalized under the Regulations.	No difference between the baseline and the regulatory scenarios.	No new action required
Integrating Crew Resource Management (CRM) components into all training	Under current practices, some railway companies cover some CRM principles in their overall training, while others do not cover CRM principles in their overall training.	Railway companies that already cover some CRM principles/practices, will need to revise and update the CRM components to include in their overall training. Railway companies that do not cover CRM principles/practices will need to develop and include CRM components in their overall training.	Railway companies will be required to ensure that all levels of training include CRM training.	Railway companies that already cover some CRM principles/practices will update their current CRM training component to provide all CRM principles and practices. Additional time will be added to existing training. Railway companies that do not cover CRM principles/practices will develop CRM components to be integrated to all training. All CRM principles and practices will add time to existing training.
Non-exercise of duties training	Railway companies are required to ensure that railway employees remain qualified to perform their duties.	If a person with a valid certificate has not performed safety-critical duties in the past 12 months, the railway company will need to renew the employee’s certificates by accessing their knowledge and skills.	This requirement is already part of current railway company practices and will be formalized under the Regulations.	No new action required
Employees with less than two years of experience able to contact experienced certificate holders	No requirements under the REQSR.	Railway companies will require a person performing the duties associated with the positions critical to safe railway operations to be able to contact a more experienced employee until they have acquired at least two years of experience.	This requirement does not exist in the baseline scenario.	Railway companies will be required to allocate resources to have experienced certificate holders available for contact with less experienced employees for the purpose of improving safety. Exception is provided to railway companies that use a train crew consisting of two locomotive engineers, for passenger trains.
Training record	Training records are required to be kept under current practices.	Training records will be required to be kept for at least six years.	This requirement does not exist in the baseline scenario. Generally, it is the current practice for railway companies to keep records for a minimum of six years.	Training records will be required to be kept for at least six years.
Examination and evaluation	Railway companies are required to evaluate employees, through proper examination and evaluation.	These training requirements will be formalized under the Regulations. Up to two persons per railway company, who are developing the training and related examinations and evaluations, will be excepted from completing the training and examination.	No difference between the baseline and the regulatory scenario. Railway companies will be allowed to except up to two persons, who are developing the training, and related examinations and evaluations, from completing the training and from completing the knowledge-based examination every five years.	No new action required Railway companies will be able to except up to two persons.
Certificate renewal training	A railway company shall, at intervals of not more than three years, have each employee in an occupational category re-examined on the required subjects.	These requirements will be formalized under the Regulations. Certificate expires three years after its date of issuance.	No difference between the baseline and the regulatory scenario.	No new action required
Transfer of certificate (from one railway company to another)	It is the current practice for railway companies to ensure certificate holders have the proper training when transferred.	Railway companies hiring new employees with certificates from other railway companies must ensure these employees undergo any additional training needed to perform their duties safely.	This requirement will be formalized under the Regulations. No difference between the baseline and the regulatory scenario.	No new action required

Costs and benefits

Data and methodology

A survey was conducted with railway companies to gather the information needed to support the cost-benefit analysis for the Regulations.

The questionnaire was sent in the spring of 2023 to all federally regulated railway companies. A total of 22 responses were received from the 30 railway companies and associations contacted. The survey collected information and data on the number of employees expected to be affected by the Regulations, the number of employees with less than two years of experience having the ability to contact an experienced certificate holder for any guidance needs (i.e. contact), and the types of training currently provided to employees.

In their responses, railway companies provided information on the number of their employees occupying positions declared critical to safe railway operations and described the training currently provided to these employees. Overall, current training practices appear consistent across the industry, with the exception of CRM training, which is provided in some form by larger companies, whereas smaller companies currently do not offer any CRM training. Excluding CRM, training practices reported by railway companies indicate that they already align with the requirements set out in the Regulations.

Regarding less experienced employees’ contact requirement, no railway company indicated having a formal program for employees with less than two years of experience having the ability to contact more experienced employees. Responses related to the time required to update and develop CRM training varied widely. In this case, hypotheses have been formulated based on survey responses and input from persons responsible for the development of the training.

It is anticipated that the Regulations will reduce rail occurrences, and as a result, decrease fatalities, major injuries, and damages to the environment and property. Due to limited data, these benefits are not quantified or monetized. However, a break-even analysis was conducted to estimate the reduction in rail occurrences required to offset the costs. The railway occurrences database and investigation reports from the TSB website were used to determine the number of incidents, fatalities, and serious injuries that could be associated^{footnote 4} with the objectives of the Regulations. Further details on the break-even analysis are provided in the “Benefits” section below.

A literature review was also conducted to support a qualitative analysis in addition to the breakeven analysis.

Costs

The Regulations will introduce new training requirements and integrate CRM components into all types of training. The Regulations will also extend the list of occupational categories that are deemed critical to safe railway operations and introduce a requirement for less experienced employees to be able to contact more experienced employees until they have acquired two years of experience. It is expected that the Regulations will impose a cost of $31.62 million on federally regulated railway companies. In addition, the Government of Canada will need to inform inspectors of the new requirements through an information session, and the additional requirements will also add time to railway operations inspections. The total cost to the Government of Canada is estimated at $165,567. Overall, the Regulations are expected to impose a total cost of $31.78 million.

Cost to industry

New training requirements

Based on the information provided by railway companies during the survey, it can be assumed that knowledge-based training, OJT, familiarization training, continuing training and non-exercise of duties training are already provided to all employees occupying a position declared critical to safe railway operations. Therefore, these requirements will only formalize existing industry practices and should not impose any additional cost.

Similarly, railway companies confirmed that the two new positions critical to safe railway operations included in the Regulations (remote control locomotive operators and rail traffic controllers) are already following the same training requirements as the other positions declared critical to safe railway operations. It is therefore assumed that all positions affected by the Regulations are currently provided with training by the railway companies that employ them. As a result, the addition of these two positions to the list of positions deemed critical to safe railway operations should not have any impact on the training of employees occupying them.

CRM components costs

The Regulations will require railway companies to integrate CRM components into all types of training. It is expected that this will increase training time for affected employees and training programs will need to be developed or updated to ensure they cover all the necessary topics and requirements.

Affected railway companies are grouped under two categories: Group 1 (3 railway companies) includes railway companies that currently offer a CRM training and need to update this training to comply with the Regulations. Whereas Group 2 (18 railway companies) includes railway companies that currently do not offer any CRM training.^{footnote 5}

Based on the information received during the survey with railway companies, employees of Group 1 companies will require additional CRM training each year to meet the regulatory requirements. It is assumed, based on the CRM training currently provided by Group 1 companies, that an additional two hours per year to cover all the CRM components will fulfill the requirements of the Regulations. Given Group 2 companies do not currently offer any CRM training to their employees, it is assumed that a total of eight hours of CRM training per year per employee will be needed to meet the requirements. This includes the time to review the CRM training components already provided by Group 1 railway companies. Table 4 presents the estimated additional CRM training hour by employee position and company group.

Table 4: Incremental duration of CRM training by railway group and employee position in hours per year
Employee position	Group 1 companies	Group 2 companies
Locomotive engineer	2	8
Conductor	2	8
Transfer hostler	2	8
Yard person	2	8
Remote control locomotive operator	2	8
Rail traffic controller	2	8

Source: Transport Canada

The CRM requirement will apply to positions declared critical to safe railway operations, including contractors and supervisors employed in these positions. Table 5 presents a breakdown of the affected employees by position and railway groups.

Table 5: Number of affected employees by position and railway group^{footnote *}
Employee position	Group 1	Group 2	Totals
Locomotive engineer	5 472	583	6 055
Conductor	8 774	410	9 184
Transfer hostler	51	96	147
Yard person	N/A	21	21
Remote control locomotive operator	N/A	N/A	N/A
Rail traffic controller	727	N/A	727
Totals	15 024	1 110	16 134
Table b3 note(s) Table b3 note * Notes: Numbers in Table 5 include contractors and supervisors working in these positions. N/A indicates that companies do not have these job positions or that these positions are included in other job position categories. Return to table b3 note * referrer

Source: Survey of railway companies and internal Transport Canada data

Based on recent trends, it is expected that there will be a decline of 0.5% per year in the number of employees over the analytical time frame under both the baseline and regulatory scenarios. This decrease in the number of employees is attributed to technological progress and automation.

To estimate the employee training costs, the average hourly employee salary^{footnote 6} was used and adjusted to 2024 Canadian dollars using Statistics Canada’s consumer price index.^{footnote 7} Table 6 presents the hourly wages of affected employees, including a 25% overhead.

Table 6: Average employees’ hourly Salaries, including 25% overhead
Employee’s position	Hourly wage including overhead
Locomotive engineer	$77.82
Conductor	$60.82
Transfer hostler	$60.82
Yard person	$52.32
Remote control locomotive operator	$60.82
Rail traffic controller	$63.71

The Regulations do not specify how courses must be delivered. They may be offered online, in a classroom, or a combination of both. According to persons responsible for the development of the training of railway personnel, railway companies currently use the online or notebook course delivery method and will likely choose to continue using the online method to minimize costs. Online training eliminates the need for a physical venue, classroom setup, or travel and courses can be predesigned, saved and accessed by employees multiple times without additional costs.

It is assumed that the online delivery and implementation of the CRM training modules and their updates are included in the initial development or annual update of CRM training costs. Therefore, if CRM training is delivered entirely online, no additional delivery costs will be incurred by railway companies. The sensitivity analysis section includes scenarios where courses are delivered fully in a classroom or through a combination of online and classroom training. There will be a two-year transition period after publication before the Regulations will come into force, so this training will therefore begin in 2028. As a result, it is estimated that the total cost of adding CRM components to the training requirements over the analytical period will be $16.80 million.

CRM training development costs

Railway companies will incur costs associated with CRM training development. To estimate these costs, the information provided by the companies was used. It is assumed that a team of four members, each with different positions and levels, will be responsible for developing the new training. For simplicity, Government of Canada salary rates for comparable positions were used as a proxy to calculate the training development cost. Based on information provided by railway companies, an estimated 10 hours of work will be needed to develop one hour of training content. This estimate also includes any necessary updates to existing training materials. Table 7 below presents the equivalent positions of the CRM components development team, their workload share, and the corresponding hourly wage, which includes a 25% overhead.

Table 7: Workload share and hourly wage of the CRM training development team by position
Training development team position	Share of workload	Hourly salary with overhead
Senior Inspector TI-07	10%	$75.02
Inspector TI-06	40%	$68.65
Senior Learning Specialist EDS-3	10%	$65.25
Learning Specialist EDS-2	40%	$61.12

As explained earlier, prior to the first year of compliance (2028), railway companies will need to develop additional training. For the purpose of this analysis, it is assumed that this effort will take place in 2027. Group 1 railway companies will need to develop an additional two hours of CRM component to update their existing training, while Group 2 railway companies will have to develop eight hours of CRM training component to comply with the Regulations. In addition, in the following years, it is assumed that all railway companies will need two hours annually to update their training program, using the same workload share laid out in Table 7. As a result, the total cost of CRM training development over the analytical period is expected to be $ 0.11 million.

Employee contact costs

The Regulations will require railway companies to ensure that employees performing duties in positions critical to safe railway operations are able to contact a more experienced employee until they have acquired at least two years of experience. By not prescribing specific details about how the method of contact must occur, the requirement provides flexibility to railway companies to achieve the desired outcome by ensuring that experienced personnel are available to support less experienced employees in order to enhance safety.

When new employees are hired, they undergo training for approximately six months, although this period may be longer or shorter, depending on the employee’s development, knowledge, and competencies. This training period does not count toward the two years of experience, as it relates to their need to be able to contact an experienced certificate holder. For this analysis, the baseline scenario assumes that all in-scope railway companies will not meet the employee contact requirements. Conductors generally work with locomotive engineers on the train, and all locomotive engineers generally have more than two years of experience as conductors, which means they would be available to provide the necessary experienced support to conductors. As a result, no incremental costs will be incurred related to the contact of conductors. For all other positions critical to safe railway operations, incremental costs will be incurred, except for VIA Rail, where an exception will be applied to locomotive engineers.^{footnote 8}

Based on information gathered from railway companies, on average 25% of their operating employees in positions critical to safe railway operations have less than two years of experience. Survey responses also indicate that, on average, 75% of assignments of employees with less than two years’ experience will be impacted by this requirement. The 75% represents the proportion of employees in positions declared critical to safe railway operations who are assigned to a task on any given working day.^{footnote 9} Using these estimates of employees with less than two years of experience, it is assumed that railway companies have an annual turnover rate of approximately 12.5%. As a result, the proportion of employees requiring contact is expected to remain constant at 25% over the analytical period.

Given the flexibility provided by the Regulations regarding how the contact requirement may be met, railway companies will be able to comply without implementing a strict one-to-one contact system. For all affected job positions, it is assumed one experienced employee in the same position will be available to support up to 10 less experienced employees, acknowledging that this ratio may vary across companies and positions. Support or guidance could be provided either in-person or virtually as appropriate. It is assumed that each experienced employee will spend an average of 1 hour per day fulfilling this role,^{footnote 10} by answering questions and providing guidance.

Based on these assumptions and the wage rates presented in Table 6, the total cost of contact requirements over the analytical period is estimated at $14.71 million.

Cost to Government

Following the publication of the Regulations in the Canada Gazette, Part II, TC will incur costs associated with updating inspector training materials used for regular ongoing training to incorporate the new regulatory requirements. Similarly, as some efforts to advance the draft guidance material will continue after the Regulations are published, it is assumed that the development of guidance material and updating the inspector training materials will take a total of four weeks to be developed by a team composed of inspectors. Using the Government of Canada wage rates with an overhead rate of 30%, it is estimated that a one-time cost for the development of the guidance and updating the inspector training materials will be $22,000 in 2026.^{footnote 11}

Railway inspectors already follow comprehensive training programs and are therefore familiar with oversight and enforcement requirements. Information on the Regulations will be provided by the National Enforcement Program to 34 inspectors^{footnote 12} through a two-hour information session following the expected registration date. This is expected to generate an additional one-time cost of $5,356 in 2026.

During routine inspections, it is expected that the requirements will add approximately 10 minutes to the average inspection time, as most of the requirements are already part of the standard inspection procedures (e.g. rules cards, crew experience) except for the contact requirement. Approximately 1 600 operational railway inspections are conducted each year. An additional 10 minutes per inspection will result in an incremental inspection cost of $138,211 over the analytical period.^{footnote 13} TC may undertake more comprehensive oversight activities to ensure railway companies comply with the Regulations.

As a result, the total cost to the Government of Canada over the analytical period is expected to be $165,567.

Benefits

It is anticipated that the Regulations will reduce the likelihood and severity of certain rail occurrences, some of which may involve fatalities, major injuries, release of dangerous goods, pollution, or damage to property. Alongside reducing the likelihood of specific rail occurrences, the Regulations are expected to strengthen safety culture within Canadian railway operations. By enhancing crew safety through robust training and the ability to contact experienced certificate holders, the likelihood of human error is expected to be reduced, and the crew and operator will be better prepared to carry out operational procedures safely. The Regulations will benefit not only crew members and passengers by building a safer work environment and improving transportation safety, but also the Canadian public more broadly by reducing the environmental and economic impacts that incidents cause (e.g. environmental and property damages, interruptions to emergency services and operations, etc.).

The Regulations will make an exception for up to two persons per company responsible for developing the training and related examinations from the requirement to complete training and the knowledge-based examination every five years. These persons typically possess the knowledge necessary to design training content and associated evaluation tools. Requiring them to complete training and knowledge-based examinations they have developed is not expected to provide additional safety or competency benefits. The exception is anticipated to reduce unnecessary burden and support more efficient use of organizational resources, while maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of training programs within the rail sector. Overall, this exception will except up to two persons responsible for the development of the training and related examinations, per railway company, to complete the knowledge-based examination every five years.^{footnote 14} This is expected to generate a cost savings of up to $14,303 for railway companies.^{footnote 15} In addition, railway companies with training group employees exceeding the two excepted persons responsible for the development of the training will potentially experience additional cost savings. The reduced requirement to complete the knowledge-based examination every five years instead of every three years could lead to further cost savings of $136 over the analytical period, reflecting the avoided examination time per additional person responsible for the development of the training.

However, due to limited data, the main benefits associated with the objectives of the Regulations cannot be directly quantified or monetized. A breakeven analysis has been conducted^{footnote 16} as an alternative approach to estimate the reduction in in-scope railway occurrences needed to offset the net costs. Even though these benefits are not directly monetized, TC believes that the Regulations are in the public interest, as the overall safety benefits are expected to outweigh the monetized costs.

Break-even analysis

To conduct the break-even analysis, the reduction in in-scope occurrences required was calculated by dividing the total cost of the Regulations by the estimated average avoided cost per in-scope occurrence. The average avoided cost per in-scope occurrence was derived from the estimated value of avoided fatalities and major injuries associated with in-scope historical occurrences, as well as other avoided costs, including property damage, delay and rerouting, emissions, operating costs and emergency response. The methodology and assumptions used in the break-even analysis are described in further detail in the following paragraphs.

In-scope occurrences

Historical in-scope occurrences, including associated fatalities and major injuries, were obtained from the TSB’s Rail Transportation Occurrence Data. The occurrences dataset was filtered to exclude grade crossing accidents, as it is difficult to link these accidents to employee training or experience. Data from 2021 to 2023 were also excluded, as the investigations of the majority of occurrences of those years are not completed. Between 2014 and 2020, there were approximately 8 088 railway occurrences, with 18 fatalities and 71 major injuries. Table 8 presents the annual occurrences reported between 2014 and 2020.

Table 8: Annual occurrences, 2014 to 2020
Year	Total occurrences	Fatalities	Major injuries
2014	1 247	2	1
2015	1 217	1	7
2016	1 009	0	10
2017	1 108	3	18
2018	1 215	4	12
2019	1 264	6	16
2020	1 028	2	7
Total	8 088	18	71

Source: TSB’s Rail Transportation Occurrence Data

Assuming that occurrences with a publicly available investigation report on the TSB website constitute a representative sample of all occurrences, it was determined that 11.11%^{footnote 17} of occurrences were directly linked to an employee’s or crew member’s lack of training or experience and accounted for 40% of the fatalities and 10% of the major injuries.^{footnote 18} Based on this proportion, out of the 8 088 railway occurrences, 899 occurrences with 7.2 fatalities and 7.1 major injuries could have been caused by an employee’s or a crew member’s lack of training or experience. The assumption underlying the break-even analysis is based on TSB investigation reports, which are not randomly selected, and certain types of occurrences may be overrepresented, potentially affecting the estimated benefits.

Using the average annual number of occurrences from 2014 to 2020 and given that no historical trend was observed, it is projected that there will be 128 in-scope occurrences per year over the analytical period (i.e. 2026 to 2037).

Average avoided cost per in-scope occurrence

On average, each in-scope occurrence is estimated to involve 0.008 fatalities and 0.007 major injuries (based on 7.2 fatalities and 7.1 major injuries over 899 occurrences). Using the value of a statistical life (VSL) required by TBS (i.e. $9.39 million in 2024 Canadian dollars), and the valuation of a major injury being 13.42% of the VSL,^{footnote 19} the average avoided human consequence cost per in-scope occurrence is calculated based on the average avoided fatalities and major injuries. As a result, the average value of avoided human consequences per in-scope occurrence is estimated to be $85,184.

In addition, using data from a 2020 study conducted in the state of North Carolina in the United States (PDF)^{footnote 20} on the cost of railway incidents, other rail incident costs, including property damage, delay and rerouting, emissions, operating costs and emergency response, were estimated at $52,178^{footnote 21} per occurrence. When combined with the avoided human consequences, the total avoided cost per occurrence is estimated at $137,362 as summarized in Table 9.

Table 9: Avoided costs per in-scope occurrence
Type of avoided cost	Value	Percent of total avoided costs
Avoided fatalities	$75,229	54.75%
Avoided major injuries	$9,955	7.25%
Avoided property damage costs	$38,367	27.95%
Avoided delay and rerouting costs	$11,318	8.24%
Avoided emissions costs	$1,073	0.78%
Avoided operating costs	$613	0.45%
Avoided emergency responder costs	$807	0.59%
Total avoided cost per occurrence	$137,362	100%

Break-even reduction of in-scope occurrences

Given that the estimated total net monetized cost of the Regulations is expected to be $31.77 million, and the average avoided cost per in-scope occurrence is expected to be $137,362, it is estimated that a 27.45% reduction in in-scope occurrences would be required to reach the break-even point. This corresponds to an average reduction of approximately 35 in-scope occurrences per year from 2028 to 2037, which would offset the estimated total costs of the Regulations.

Qualitative benefits

Similar to the North Carolina Department of Transportation study, which supports the breakeven analysis, another study conducted by the US Department of Transportation on Rail Crew Resource Management^{footnote 22} also demonstrates that CRM training can be expected to generate net positive benefits at both the industry and individual railway company level by reducing the overall costs associated with human factors-related accidents. This study uses utility analysis to quantify the anticipated benefits to the railroad industry if CRM training were to be applied. The report focuses on the utility of CRM in the railroad industry, specifically assessing its potential to reduce accident costs. It emphasizes that CRM can prevent accidents related to mechanical failure by enhancing coordination and teamwork. Even though this study emphasizes the benefits on accident-related cost savings, the study also identified several qualitative benefits of CRM training such as improved workplace safety, enhanced teamwork and crew coordination, and the avoidance of legal and post-accident hazardous material cleanup costs. The findings recommend the broader implementation of CRM to strengthen compliance, enhance efficiency, and productivity, leading to financial savings and additional safety benefits.

Certification

Railway companies will continue to issue certificates to employees in positions declared critical to safe railway operations. However, the Regulations will not prescribe a specific certification format. As a result, railway companies are expected to choose the least costly format, which may lead to overall cost savings.

Cost-benefit statement

Number of years: 12 (2026 to 2037)
Price year: 2024
Present value base year: 2026
Discount rate: 7%

Table 10: Monetized costs (present value)
Impacted stakeholders	Costs description	Base year (2026)	Year 2027	Coming- into-force year (2028)	Final year (2037)	Total present value	Annualized value
Railway companies	CRM Costs	$0	$0	$2,279,149	$1,185,022	$16,794,567	$1,976,140
	Training development cost	$0	$92,487	$2,420	$1,316	$110,676	$13,023
	Contact cost	$0	$0	$1,996,674	$1,038,152	$14,713,071	$1,731,220
Government of Canada	Information session to inspectors	$5,356	$0	$0	$0	$5,356	$630
	Development of guidance and updating training materials	$22,000	$0	$0	$0	$22,000	$2,589
	Additional inspection time	$0	$0	$18,391	$10,003	$138,211	$16,263
All stakeholders	Total costs	$27,356	$92,487	$4,296,635	$2,234,494	$31,783,880	$3,739,863

Figures may not add up to totals due to rounding.

Table 11: Monetized benefits (present value)
Impacted Stakeholders	Benefits description	Base year (2026)	Year 2027	Coming- into-force year (2028)	Final year (2037)	Total present value	Annualized value
Railway companies	Exception to up to two persons to complete training, examination and evaluation	$0	$0	$1,903	$1,035	$14,303	$1,683

Table 12: Summary of monetized costs and benefits (present value)
Impacted Stakeholders	Base year (2026)	Year 2027	Coming-into-force year (2028)	Final year (2037)	Total present value	Annualized value
Total Cost	$27,356	$92,487	$4,296,635	$2,234,494	$31,783,880	$3,739,863
Total Benefit	$0	$0	$1,903	$1,035	$14,303	$1,683
Net Cost	$27,356	$92,487	$4,294,731	$2,233,459	$31,769,578	$3,738,180

Figures may not add up to totals due to rounding.

Table 13: Occurrence reduction at break-even point
Projected number of in-scope occurrences per year	Average estimated cost per occurrence	Occurrence reduction needed per year to cover the net cost (%)	Occurrence reduction needed per year to cover the net cost
128	$137,362	27.45%	35

Qualitative benefits

The Regulations will provide a more comprehensive and robust training and qualification regime enhancing the safety of railway employees and mitigating negative impacts on the economy, leading to both financial savings and additional safety benefits.
The Regulations will not prescribe a specific format of the certification. This will allow railway companies to provide alternative certificate formats such as electronic certificates to be issued and stored on devices compared to the current wallet-sized card requirement. It is expected that railway companies will choose the least expensive format, potentially resulting in cost savings.

Distributional analysis

The Regulations will affect 21 Canadian railway companies operating on federally regulated track in Canada. As explained earlier, railway companies have been categorized into two groups: those that currently provide CRM training (Group 1) and those that do not (Group 2). Group 1 companies are expected to incur 82% of the total cost, while Group 2 companies will incur the remaining 18%. Table 14.1 below presents the distribution of the total cost between the two groups. The higher share of cost borne by Group 1 railway companies reflects the fact that 93% of the affected employees work for Group 1 railway companies, compared with 7% for Group 2.

Table 14.1: Total cost by railway companies group
Railway companies’ group	Number of companies	Cost	Percentage of total cost
Group 1	3	$26,015,830	82%
Group 2	18	$5,602,484	18%
Total	21	$31,618,314	100%

Table 14.2 presents the distribution of costs between public and private railway companies. Publicly owned railway companies are expected to bear 2% of the total costs, while private railway companies will bear the remaining 98%. Among private companies, the two largest railway companies in-scope will bear the majority of the costs, accounting for 83% of the total costs.

Table 14.2: Total cost by publicly and privately owned railway company
Ownership type	Number of companies	Costs	Percentage
Public	2	$716,529	2%
Private	19	$30,901,785	98%
Total	21	$31,618,314	100%

Sensitivity analysis

As previously described, a number of assumptions have been made to estimate the costs of the Regulations. To address the effect of uncertainty and variability on these assumptions, a sensitivity analysis was conducted, where variables are assigned different values and outcomes are re-evaluated. A single-variable sensitivity analysis was performed on the following variables: the estimated industry cost, the estimated CRM training delivery cost, the analytical time frame and discount rates.

Estimated industry cost

Since some of the data used in the analysis are obtained through a survey of railway companies, a sensitivity analysis is presented assuming that the results of the central analysis (industry cost — $31,618,314) are either overestimated by 25% or underestimated by 25%.

Estimated CRM training delivery cost

For the delivery of CRM training, railway companies will need to choose between three methods: online training, classroom training or a combination of both. According to persons responsible for the development of the training of railway personnel, railway companies are currently using either online or notebook course delivery method and will likely choose to continue using the online training method to minimize costs. Therefore, the central analysis assumes that online training will be the chosen method. A sensitivity analysis presents the results if a classroom or hybrid delivery method were chosen by railway companies.

For classroom training delivery, it is assumed that railway companies will deliver the CRM training on their premises. It is also assumed that all necessary training materials will be provided electronically to employees as part of the instructor’s preparation. Therefore, no costs related to training venues, classroom setup, logistics, or travel are expected. The only incremental cost will be the instructors’ time for delivering the course and their preparation time. Instructors are assumed to be experienced employees in the same position, as presented in Table 6. Classroom instruction is assumed to accommodate 30 employees per session, with one hour allocated for the instructor to prepare the training for each session.

For hybrid training (online and classroom), it is assumed that half of all CRM training will be delivered online and the other half in a classroom. For simplicity the cost of hybrid delivery is assumed to be equal to half the cost of classroom training.

Analytical time frame

A 12-year period analytical time frame was used for the central analysis to fully represent the expected cost over a 10-year time frame, whereas the sensitivity analysis presents the results should a 17-year or 22-year period time frame have been used.

Discount rate

The central analysis used a 7% discount rate as recommended by the Policy on Cost-Benefit Analysis. The sensitivity analysis presents the results should a 3% discount rate have been used, as well as if there were no discounting.

Table 15.1: Sensitivity analysis results — Estimated industry cost
Parameter	Total net cost (present value in million)	Break-even annual occurrence	Break-even annual occurrence (%)
Central industry cost assumptions	$31,769,578	35	27.45%
25% higher industry cost	$39,674,156	44	34.27%
25% lower industry cost	$23,864,999	26	20.62%

Table 15.2: Sensitivity analysis results — Estimated CRM training delivery cost
Parameter	Total net cost (present value)	Break-even annual occurrence	Break-even annual occurrence (%)
Online delivery^{table b15 note *}	$31,769,578	35	27.45%
Classroom delivery	$32,560,087	36	28.13%
Hybrid delivery	$32,164,832	36	27.79%
Table b15 note(s) Table b15 note * Central scenario used in main analysis Return to table b15 note * referrer

Table 15.3: Sensitivity analysis results — Analytical time frame
Parameter	Total net cost (present value)	Break-even annual occurrence	Break-even annual occurrence (%)
12-year period^{table b16 note *}	$31,769,578	35	27.45%
17-year period	$40,797,456	35	27.18%
22-year period	$47,075,634	35	26.96%
Table b16 note(s) Table b16 note * Central scenario used in main analysis Return to table b16 note * referrer

Table 15.4: Sensitivity analysis results — Discount rates
Parameter	Total net cost (present value)	Break-even annual occurrence	Break-even annual occurrence (%)
Undiscounted	$48,209,793	35	27.34%
3%	$39,993,364	35	27.38%
7%^{table b17 note *}	$31,769,578	35	27.45%
Table b17 note(s) Table b17 note * Central scenario used in main analysis Return to table b17 note * referrer

Small business lens

Analysis under the small business lens concluded that the Regulations will impact small businesses, as 13 of the impacted railway companies are estimated to be small businesses.^{footnote 23} Since all of them are categorized as Group 2 railway companies, approximately 72% of the total costs incurred by Group 2 companies will be borne by small businesses. As a result, the expected cost of the Regulations on small businesses is estimated to be $4.05 million over the 12-year analytical period.

To support the health and safety of railway employees, it is essential that all affected businesses meet consistent training requirements. While no specific flexibilities have been developed for small businesses, some elements of the Regulations are expected to help mitigate impacts for small businesses. First, the Regulations will provide a two-year transition period, which will give railway companies two full years to comply with new requirements. In addition, the Regulations were designed to be outcome-based, which will provide small businesses (and all impacted businesses) flexibility to determine how they will develop and implement their training programs. Small businesses will be able to except up to two persons responsible for the development of the training and related examinations, per railway company, to complete the knowledge-based examination every five years.^{footnote 24} This is expected to generate a cost savings of up to $8,854 for railway companies.^{footnote 25} Overall, the net cost of the Regulations on small businesses is estimated to be $4.04 million.

Small business lens summary

Number of small businesses impacted: 13
Number of years: 12 (2026 to 2037)
Price year: 2024
Present value base year: 2026
Discount rate: 7%

Table 16: Benefits
Administrative or compliance	Description of benefit	Present value	Annualized value
Compliance	Exception to up to two persons to complete training, examination and evaluation	$8,854	$1,042
Total	Total benefits	$8,854	$1,042

Table 17: Costs
Administrative or compliance	Description of cost	Present value	Annualized value
Compliance	CRM Costs	$2,843,779	$334,614
	Training development cost	$75,384	$8,870
	Contact cost	$1,127,076	$132,618
Total	Total costs	$4,046,239	$476,102

Table 18: Net impacts
Amount	Present value	Annualized value
Total net cost on all impacted small businesses	$4,037,385	$475,061
Average net cost on each impacted small business	$310,568	$36,543

One-for-one rule

The one-for-one rule does not apply, as the Regulations will not result in an incremental change in the administrative burden on businesses.

The REQSR will be repealed by Order and replaced with the Regulations, which will result in no net increase or decrease in regulatory titles.

The Regulations will prescribe the retention time for training records; these records will need to be kept for a minimum of six years. However, since a record-keeping requirement already exists under current regulations, the retention time frame is not expected to result in an increase in administrative costs to businesses, since the associated administrative tasks (filing and retrieval) will not be impacted; the cost of infrastructure for document storage is not considered an administrative burden as defined in the Red Tape Reduction Act.

As mentioned in the baseline and regulatory scenario sections, the Regulations will remove the requirements for railway companies to notify the Committee of changes to examination formats and evaluations, and to submit, on a yearly basis, a comprehensive report on its employee training programs. Since railway companies have not been submitting their comprehensive report for more than 10 years and TC has not taken enforcement action, it is not expected to result in a decrease in administrative costs to business.

Regulatory cooperation and alignment

The Regulations will not apply to provincial railway employees, but provinces can and may incorporate the Regulations’ content within their respective regulatory regimes. This was done by British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick with the REQSR. Quebec has a more distinct regulatory regime, but its regime still features requirements that mirror those within the Regulations (e.g. regulatory requirements respecting the training and qualification of railway employees refer to the duties of the position rather than the occupational category). In addition, the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act and the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Regulations require that federal railway companies recognize a provincial or territorial authorization for a position critical to safe railway operations under these Regulations, provided that the holder of that authorization successfully completes any applicable federal examination and evaluation required under the Regulations. This requirement ensures that the holder is competent to perform their required duties.

International obligations

Although the Regulations are not related to any specific international agreements/obligations, nor any formal regulatory cooperation initiatives, they will align with the U.S. approach to regulating the training and qualification of railway workers, including CRM training. More specifically, in the United States, minimum training and qualification standards apply to employees in positions declared critical to safe railway operations, such as dispatchers (rail traffic controllers). However, in the United States, the positions are not based on job titles but based on the performance of safety-related tasks set by the railway company, which is different from Canada. The Regulations will not apply to railway employees that originate from a home terminal in the United States and enter Canada to reach a terminal or turnaround point that is within 24 km (15 miles) of the boundary between Canada and the United States.

Effects on the environment

In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessment, and the TC Policy Statement on Strategic Environment Assessment (2013), the strategic environmental assessment process was followed and a Sustainable Transportation Assessment was completed. The assessment considered potential effects to the environmental goals and targets of the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy. No important environmental effects are anticipated as a result of the Regulations. However, as the Regulations are expected to reduce accidents, these will also reduce environmental damage that these accidents would have caused.

Gender-based analysis plus

Overall, the Regulations will benefit all Canadians by improving the safety of railway operations. The Regulations are expected to help reduce the number of accidents and incidents that can result in injuries or fatalities, environmental damage and disruptions to communities and businesses that depend on the rail transportation sector.

Similar to other transportation industries, such as the trucking industry, the rail industry workforce is predominantly male. Based on data from 2022 compiled and published by the RAC, 85% of employees identified as male and 15% identified as female. Approximately 13.8% of railway workers identified as a visible minority and approximately 4.6% identified as Indigenous peoples. Between 2020 and 2022, there was an increase in representation for women (up 3.2%), visible minorities (up 2.9%) and Indigenous peoples (up 0.7%).

However, based on the stakeholder consultations and a review of existing regulations, there is no indication that training requirements have affected the participation of women, or other underrepresented groups, in the rail industry.

The Regulations, which are designed to strengthen and modernize training requirements, are not expected to create or reinforce any barriers to the participation of women in the rail industry. However, TC notes that the non-exercise of duties requirement in the Regulations may have a differential impact on female employees who seek extended leave in relation to a pregnancy (i.e. maternity leave), as these employees may — depending on the length of the absence — need to take the recertification training before returning to their duties. Despite the potential differential impact that the new non-exercise of duties requirement may have on some female employees, TC has concluded, in light of the TSB’s findings, that the knowledge and skills required for positions critical to safe railway operations are perishable and that, therefore, the requirement is necessary to confirm a consistent level of training and experience among employees in these positions. No mitigation measures or flexibilities were considered because the new requirement is designed to help ensure the safety of railway operators, their crews, and the general public. Furthermore, TC does not anticipate that this requirement will negatively impact the participation of women in the rail industry, as, irrespective of gender, railway employees recognize the importance of maintaining their skills for the safety and efficiency of rail operations.

TC’s analysis did not identify any other potential differential impacts based on identity factors such as race, ethnicity, sexuality, age or religion.

Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards

Implementation

The Regulations will come into force two years after publication in the Canada Gazette, Part II, for all railway companies and local railway companies. A transition period of two years will provide railway companies with enough time to review and revise or develop their training programs to bring them into compliance with the Regulations. Draft guidance material will be shared with industry on the day that the Regulations are published in the Canada Gazette, Part II. This will be done to assist with the implementation process. Inspectors will also be able to answer questions related to the Regulations as they conduct their planned inspections.

Compliance and enforcement

Once the Regulations come into force, in accordance with the Rail Safety Oversight Policy and the Departmental Enforcement Standards, TC typically takes a graduated enforcement approach to bring those who contravene the Regulations back into compliance. In the event of non-compliance with the Regulations, TC could consider the company’s behaviour and willingness to comply before taking appropriate enforcement action, which could range from a letter of warning to an administrative monetary penalty of up to $250,000 based on non-compliance with section 17.2 of the RSA, or prosecution for the most serious offences.

Costs to TC associated with the implementation, administration and enforcement of the Regulations will be managed within existing resources. Training materials for Transport Canada inspectors will be updated before the Regulations come into force.

Contact

Jacqueline Randall
Director
Regulatory Affairs
Rail Safety and Security
Transport Canada
Email: TC.RailSafetyRegAffairs-AffairesRegSecuriteferroviaire.TC@tc.gc.ca

Footnotes

Footnote a

S.C. 2012, c. 7, ss. 13(1) and (2)

Return to footnote a referrer

Footnote b

S.C. 2015, c. 31, s. 31(1)

Return to footnote b referrer

Footnote c

R.S., c. 32 (4th Supp.)

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Footnote d

S.C. 2025, c. 2, s. 2

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Footnote 1

SOR/2025-225

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Footnote 2

Railway Investigation Report R16T0111 - Transportation Safety Board of Canada (tsb.gc.ca)

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Footnote 3

Note that under the Regulations, the requirement for instructors to complete the training and knowledge-based examination will be every five years (instead of every three years under the baseline), unless the exception applies.

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Footnote 4

Rail occurrences in which contributing factors are identified as a lack of training or experience of employees or crew members are considered linked to the Regulations.

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Footnote 5

The classification of railway companies into Group 1 and Group 2 was based on their responses during the survey.

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Footnote 6

Locomotive engineer: Code 7361, Conductor: Code 7362, Transfer hostler: Code 7362, Yard person: Code 7531, Locomotive operator: Code 7362, Rail traffic controller: Code 2275.

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Footnote 7

Statistics Canada. Table 18-10-0005-01 Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted.

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Footnote 8

The Regulations will allow an exception on employee contact requirements for railway companies that use a train crew consisting of two locomotive engineers, on board a passenger train only. This exception will apply to Via Rail, as crews typically consist of two certified locomotive engineers.

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Footnote 9

Survey responses had a range of 50% to 88% of assignments of employees with less than two years’ experience that would need a contact.

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Footnote 10

The contact role of the more experienced employee consists of the mentorship of less experienced employees and providing guidance when requested on how to safely perform their work, which also includes the administrative aspect of scheduling.

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Footnote 11

It is estimated to take around three weeks to develop the industry guidance material and one week to update the inspector training material. Documentation will be developed by a team composed of inspectors. Government of Canada wage rates are used with an overhead rate of 30%.

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Footnote 12

Of the 34 inspectors, 6 are in managerial positions (TI-08) and 28 are inspectors (TI-06). Government of Canada wage rates are used with an overhead rate of 30%.

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Footnote 13

The weighted average hourly salary plus a 30% overhead of the 34 inspectors is $78.76.

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Footnote 14

Only examination time is considered in the calculation of cost savings. Although the exception also removes the requirement to complete training, persons in these roles are responsible for designing and providing the training and are therefore assumed to already maintain the requisite knowledge as part of their ongoing responsibilities.

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Footnote 15

The estimated cost savings of up to $14,303 reflect the upper-bound scenario in which all 21 railway companies have two persons responsible for the development of the training excepted from completing a two‑hour examination once every three years as required in the baseline. The estimation uses a wage rate of $77.82/hour (including an overhead of 25%) and the number of exams is distributed evenly over 10 years after the coming into force of the Regulations. Knowing that not all companies are expected to be affected, the actual cost savings are expected to be lower than $14,303.

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Footnote 16

In economics, a break-even analysis estimates a value (or a point), at which the total revenue (the benefit) and the total cost are equal.

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Footnote 17

9 of 81 investigations directly quote a lack of experience or training as a contributing factor to the occurrence.

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Footnote 18

From the sample of 81 TSB reports, the 9 investigations linked to the Regulations resulted in 4 out of 10 fatalities (40%) and 1 out of 10 serious injuries (10%).

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Footnote 19

T. Miller. N, Bergeron, and B. Lawrence, “Motor Vehicle Injury Valuation for Canada’s National Collision Database Economic Analysis”, 2016

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Footnote 20

Bert, S., Keller, C., Parsons, O., Randall, M., Poslusny, J., Lahare, A., … & Findley, D. (2020). Comprehensive Cost of Rail Incidents in North Carolina (No. FHWA/NC/2020-44). North Carolina Department of Transportation. Research and Development Unit.

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Footnote 21

Values were converted from 2020 USD to 2020 CAD using an exchange rate of 1.34, then subsequently inflated to 2024 dollars using Statistics Canada Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted (Table 18-10-0005-01).

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Footnote 22

Stephen S. Roop, Curtis A. Morgan, Tobin B. Kyte, Winfred, Arthur, Jr., Anton J. Villado, and Theodore Beneigh (2007). Rail Crew Resource Management (CRM): The Business Case for CRM Training in the Railroad Industry (PDF). DOT/FRA/ORD-07/21. U.S. Department of Transportation.

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Footnote 23

A small business is a company with fewer than 100 employees or a company that has $5 million or less in annual revenue.

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Footnote 24

Only examination time is considered in the calculation of cost savings.

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Footnote 25

The estimated cost savings of up to $8,854 reflect the upper-bound scenario in which all 13 small business railway companies have two persons responsible for the development of the training excepted from completing a two‑hour examination once every three years as required in the baseline. The estimation uses a wage rate of $77.82/hour (including an overhead of 25%) and the number of exams is distributed evenly over 10 years after the coming into force of the Regulations. Knowing that not all companies are expected to be affected, the actual cost savings are expected to be lower than $8,854.

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Railway Personnel Training and Qualifications Regulations: SOR/2026-141

Railway Personnel Training and Qualifications Regulations

General

Training

General

Initial Training

Continuing Training

Familiarization Training

Certificate Renewal Training

Examinations and Evaluations

Records

Bargaining Agents

Consequential Amendment to the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Regulations

Coming into Force

SCHEDULE

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

Executive summary

Issues

Background

Objective

Description

Positions critical to safe railway operations

Contact for less experienced employees

Training requirements

Training record

Certificates

Renewal of certificate

Non-exercise of duties (return to work)

Transfer of certificate

Regulatory development

Pre-Canada Gazette, Part I consultation summary

Prepublication in the Canada Gazette

Scope of application

Flexibility to reflect varying complexity of operations

Employee Contact requirements for newly certified employees

Time-based requirements

Summary of stakeholder comments on the cost-benefit analysis

Indigenous engagement, consultation and modern treaty obligations

Instrument choice

Regulatory analysis

Analytical framework

Affected stakeholders

Baseline and regulatory scenarios

Baseline scenario

Regulatory scenario

Costs and benefits

Data and methodology

Costs

Cost to industry

Table b3 note(s)

Cost to Government

Benefits

Break-even analysis

Qualitative benefits

Certification

Cost-benefit statement

Qualitative benefits

Distributional analysis

Sensitivity analysis

Estimated industry cost

Estimated CRM training delivery cost

Analytical time frame

Discount rate

Table b15 note(s)

Table b16 note(s)

Table b17 note(s)

Small business lens

Small business lens summary

One-for-one rule

Regulatory cooperation and alignment

International obligations

Effects on the environment

Gender-based analysis plus

Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards

Implementation

Compliance and enforcement

Contact