T5101 - Operations of railways

Operational Details
Railway operations, like commercial, scheduled and chartered airlines, are comprised of parts and activities, all inter-related. Canadian National and Canadian Pacific are two, large, integrated railroad companies who provide services across Canada. They operate main lines and several railway spurs, or secondary lines. Railway stations are constructed at various centres where passengers and freight are picked up and delivered. Some short term storage is also provided. Railway operations also include smaller lines that operate within the province. They may be either tourism related, or specific to an industry, such as supplying a freight hauling service to the potash or mining community. Rolling stock includes train engines and a wide variety of railcars including passenger, freight, tankers, grain haulers, auto carriers, flatdecks, cattle cars, snow removal and repair cars.

A railway operation must, out of necessity, maintain their lines and repair damage caused from washouts, floods, landslides and train derailments. This means having a large array of equipment that is designed to be operated from rail lines or adjacent to the trackage. Some are specialized, but shovels, caterpillar tractors and loaders may also be used. Work crews regularly patrol the tracks, making necessary preventive maintenance adjustments. (Re-spiking, replacing railway ties or cross- members, etc.) New tracks may be laid, using special track handling machines and intensive labour. Old tracks and spurs may be removed and components either sold for scrap, or returned to a railway maintenance yard.

Railways employ a myriad of workers, specific to the rail industry. Some of the job functions are: rail operations manager and superintendent, traffic controller, traffic engineer, dispatcher, inspector, railcar puller, oiler, conductor, cook, dining car server, railway engineer, railcar porter, attendant, railcar cleaner, railway mail clerk, passenger agent, railway signal installer, railway tank inspector, railway technician, track worker and track foreman, yard worker, claims adjuster, accident investigator, policeman, marketing staff, and administrators.

Some rail stations may have a restaurant or beanery for its patrons. Dining car services, restaurants, maintenance, and repair are integral activities undertaken. However, the railways also uses a wide variety of subcontractors to assist them in their ongoing operations. Construction and maintenance are two areas where subtrades are widely used.

Some railways may offer accommodation at a company hotel. (When this is the case, the railroad qualifies for an additional industry in the appropriate classification).

This subcode also includes cleaning railway cars using mobile steam cleaning equipment. The cleaning unit uses a heater and compressor that turns pressurized heated water into steam. Through the use of a high pressure hose attachment, dirt, grease, diesel oil, and other pollutants are removed from the exterior surface of the cars, under carriage and wheels

SIC Codes
000000854 - Operation of railways
000000839 - Cleaning of railway cars