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Equipment Safety

The safe way to load for shipment quality

Finding the Right Equipment for Your Needs

To find the equipment that's right for you, select the product you want to ship and we will tell you the rail car or container you can use. Specific dimensions may vary by container series and/or manufacturer. If precise dimensions are required, please contact your CN Account Manager.

Visit this page regularly to stay up to date with the latest safety best practice.

Shipment Quality Services We Offer

Review and create load plans that meet or exceed regulations standards
Help find more cost-effective solutions to load and secure product
Offer training and safe loading practices, for all commodities
Inform other railroads of load plans to facilitate interchange
Conduct safety audits
Investigate damage, identify cause and make recommendations for improvement
Make every effort possible to save your product in the event of an incident

AAR Damage Prevention and Freight Claims

CONTACT OUR EXPERTS

LOAD PLAN REQUEST FORM

Loading and Shipping Policies, Rules & Instructions

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Help us meet your transportation requirements for safe, damage-free shipping and follow our equipment loading rules.

For the latest updates and standards visit the AAR website.

Intermodal Rules

Here are some additional documents:

CN 6800 - For the acceptance and restrictions of intermodal traffic, including:

Acceptance of containers
Traffic restrictions
Coiled Metal Products
Dangerous Goods / Hazardous Materials
Restricted commodities

CN Tariff 9100 – Optional services and associated costs

AAR Intermodal Loading Guide (PDF) – Information and load plans for intermodal containers, accepted by all class 1 railways.

Load Plan Request - General (PDF) – Submit a custom load plan request to CN's Damage Prevention team.

Open Top Loading Rules

See all open top Loading Rules

Change to Section 1 of AAR Open Top Loading Rules: Welding - Circular C-11462, Rule 14 - July, 2011 (PDF)

Open Top Loading Rules: Break Wheel Clearances - Circular C-10477 (PDF)

New Sections 1 and 7 Open Top Loading Rules Manuals (PDF)

Change to Section 1 of AAR Open Top Loading Rules: Overhang Load - Circular C-11461, Rule 29 - July, 2011 (PDF)

Seal-joint banding used when loading open top railcars - October 1, 2008

Open top winter loading rules (Applicable November 1st - March 1st)

Request for Railroad Shippers Free Electronic Download of AAR OTLR Publications (PDF)

General Safety Guidelines (PDF)

Loading Instructions

Be safe, take a look at our loading instructions

Loading Instructions - Bulkhead Flat Cars - Strap Stowage and Tie Down (PDF)

Loading Instructions - Centerbeam Cars - Securing Cables (PDF)

AAR Damage Prevention Publications

Load plan request - General (PDF)

AAR Best Practices for Loading of Roll Paper

New Policy for Riser Use with Roll Paper

Riser User Policy 01 June 2013 (PDF)

AAR Damage Prevention Publications

New AAR Loading Rules for Packaged Lumber And Centerbeam Cars

See the new AAR Loading Rules for Packaged Lumber And Centerbeam Cars – Circular C-10355.

For safety reasons, the Association of America Railroads (AAR) has revised loading rules for loading lumber products on centerbeam railcars. For more information:

AAR circular C-10355 on Figure 54 changes (PDF)

Compression Package Band – Detail A (PDF)

Compression Package Band – Detail B (PDF)

AAR General Carload Rules - Commodities in Closed Cars

See rule 5 of AAR Circular No.42-K.

Rule 5 of AAR Circular No. 42-K (PDF)

AAR Damage Prevention Publications

Load plan request - General (PDF)

Videos

Proper Operating of Boxcar Doors*

Spotting Damaged Boxcar Doors*

Boxcar Loading and Unloading Practices*

*Some of our animated videos cover the safe operation of boxcar doors. The loading practices depicted in these animations are an artist’s conception and are not suitable for safe freight loading and should not be practiced.

Flexitank Shipping Requirements and Approved Manufacturers

Flexitank approved manufacturers:

- EPT (Environmental Packaging Technologies)

- DHL Flexitanks

- SIA Flexitanks

Commodity Request Form for Flexitanks

Overload Policy

The information below is vital for the safety of our operations. This will ensure that your goods get to destination safely without injuring people or damaging material.

Do not overload your car!

As stated in our optional services tariff CN 9000 Item 14000, you must ensure:

The weight of the commodity you put in your car must not exceed the load limit stenciled on the car.
The weight, indicated on the car, plus the weight of your commodity, must not exceed the maximum gross weight capacity of the route to destination.

To determine how much weight our network can support, take a look at our Rail Capacity on CN's Network page. If you are unable to determine the capacity of the route to destination contact your Account manager or call 1-888-MOVIN-CN (668-4626)

You respected the load limits, but did you pay attention to how you loaded that weight on the car?

You must make sure that all compartments in the car are loaded to the same level. This is important for safety. An improperly loaded car may result in:

A derailment
Structural damage
Commodity losses for the shipper

Improperly or overloaded cars will be treated as stated below:

Pulled aside for load adjustment
The shipper will be responsible for arranging for the load to be reduced or rearranged at its own expense
The shipper will have to pay for all additional switching, asset use and penalty charges

Shipping Dimensional Loads

If you are moving freight that is high, wide, long or heavy, we can ship it. We have the experience and knowledge to move your valuable cargo safely to destination. To get started contact one of our experts who will ask you to fill the Dimensional Load Clearance File Request Form (XLS).

CONTACT OUR EXPERTS

Please note that all dimensional shipments must have a clearance file.

Get a complete transportation solution

Our team has an excellent track record on safety and damage-free handling. Our experts work with logistics specialists throughout the entire supply chain.

A value-added logistics solution can include:

Height and width clearance analysis
Heavy duty railcars for your dimensional load
Recommendations of special equipment for efficient loading
Safe loading requirements and secure procedures
Reliable transit times
Transload facilities for truck to rail transfer and rail to truck transfer
Assistance in finding a loading/offloading location on system tracks

Self Service Tools

Registering with ebusiness enables you to obtain information online:

Clearance file requests
Rates for most CN origin-destinations for shipments 12ft wide or less and up to 300,000 lbs
Routing, mileage
Interactive map – displaying information throughout the North American rail network

Read more about dimensional and heavy loads

Everyday Safety

Safety isn’t a buzzword. It is something both CN and our customers work toward daily, communicating and collaborating to ensure our mutual operations are completed safely and efficiently.

We’ve assembled some resources to help you understand how to work safely with CN.

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Proper Operating of Boxcars Doors*

Spotting Damaged Boxcar Doors*

Boxcar Loading and Unloading Practices*

Intermodal Terminal Safety Procedures

* Some of our animated videos show how to safely operate boxcar doors. The loading methods shown in these animations are artist's renderings; they are not suitable for loading freight and should not be used.

Learn more about shipping Safely

How to Make a Freight Claim

We take pride in supporting smooth and efficient supply chain operations. While every effort is made to ensure goods arrive in excellent condition, occasional issues can arise during transit. Should that happen, we’re committed to making the resolution process as straightforward and efficient as possible.

Submit your claim online, it's quick and easy!

Make sure you are registered to CN One
File your claim online on CN One
Receive a confirmation number
Decision is made and within 14 days a payment is made

Important:

Damage notification or intent to claim must be submitted within four months of your product arriving at final destination
If additional information is required, we will use the name and contact number that you enter on the claims web site as our point of contact

Information Required to File a Claim

Please make sure you have the following information available before you file a claim online:

Statement of type of damage, quantity of damage, reason for damage and value of damaged product and/or cost to repair damaged product
Original bill of lading
Original or certified copy of invoice to original customer
Photo and any other related documentation not previously sent with a Damage Notification
Photographs pertaining to the condition of the goods at origin and destination.
Photographs of the packaging or securement within the equipment.
Any additional supporting documentation

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Contact the Claims Team

Contact Our Experts

Do you have a question regarding the safety loading of your shipment or do you need help with a loading plan?

Reach out to our Shipment Quality Team.

CONTACT OUR EXPERTS

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For Safety Concerns at Your Facility

CN Customer Service Centre

1-866-926-7245