Loading

The railway or the administrator should contact the producer by phone to indicate when the requested car will be spotted for loading and how much time the producer will have to load the car. If requested cars are not spotted during the scheduled week, producers should contact their administrators or the railway.

Producer railway cars must be loaded:

• by or for the authorized producer
• with the authorized producer’s grain
• with the correct grain and as authorized by the Canadian Grain Commission

Other considerations for loading producer railway cars:

• loading through a licensed grain elevator is prohibited
• shipping infested or contaminated grain, grain products or screenings is prohibited
• shipping a car that has been fumigated is prohibited
• any tape covering the car’s vents and any old tags or placards must be removed
• if a car is not loaded on time and is pulled empty by the railway, the Canadian Grain Commission will cancel the car and the railway will charge the producer a penalty fee
• depending on the circumstances, the producer or administrator may need to apply again and pay another fee before a car is spotted again
• producers must provide their own seals
• Safe Operating Practices Overview document (PDF – 1.5 MB)

CN and CPKC provide more information about loading producer cars on their websites.

Completing shipping documents

Bill of lading

After a producer has loaded a car, the producer must complete a bill of lading from the railway. The producer or administrator must submit the bill of lading to the railway in a timely and accurate manner.

Verify the contents of a car

The bill of lading may be required to verify the contents of a car. Ensure that the loading information included in the bill of lading is accurate and identifies the producer as the shipper.

Releasing producer railway cars

After the producer has loaded a car and completed the bill of lading, the producer or administrator must release the car.

• If a producer has an administrator, the producer notifies the administrator when the car is loaded and arranges to have the administrator release the car.
• If a producer is self-administering a car, the producer releases the car to the railway electronically.
  The producer will need:
  • an authorization number, supplied by the Canadian Grain Commission
  • a railway Order Reference Number (ORN), supplied by the Canadian Grain Commission

Completing shipping reports

Shipping reports must be completed with car load information after the car has been loaded and released. To complete a shipping report, the producer or administrator records the authorization number and railcar number for each car that has been loaded and released. Completed shipping reports must be sent to the Canadian Grain Commission’s producer car unit.

Penalties

Railways may charge penalties for demurrage, late releases, late cancellations and any changes a producer or administrator makes to the bills of lading after the cars are released.