With the exception of the Weekly Line of Business Report, the weekly carload data and other railroad performance measures presented in this site are provided by CP to the Association of American Railroads ("AAR") on a weekly basis. The Weekly Line of Business Report contains the same information as that contained in the Weekly Carload Report provided to the AAR, but the information is organized differently to reflect the line of business groups used by CP for financial reporting purposes.
These data and measures are only some of the indicators of railway performance. Readers are therefore cautioned not to rely solely on this information as an indication of CP's overall performance, financial or otherwise, as it may be misleading when viewed in isolation.
Line of business reports
1. Effective Week 1 2009, CP carload information includes DM&E on a consolidated basis. Additional carload pro-forma information inclusive of the DM&E for the year ending December 31, 2008 is here. 2009 versus 2008 comparative pro-forma weekly carload data can be found here
AAR reports *
1. Effective October 30, 2008, Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP) acquired operational control of Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corporation (DM&E) and its subsidiary Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad (ICE). DM&E and ICE were not previously included in the Railroad Performance Metrics reporting
Effective week ending October 16, 2009 (Week 41), DM&E data was consolidated into Total Cars Online. Effective week ending January 8, 2010 (Week 1), Active Cars Online, Train Speed and Terminal Dwell include DM&E data
2. Calculations for these years is different than 2004 and later
General definitions for measurements
Cars on line
Cars On Line is the average of the daily on-line inventory of freight cars. Articulated cars are counted as a single unit. Cars on private tracks (e.g., at a customer's facility) are counted on the last railroad on which they were located. Maintenance of way cars are excluded.
Cars on Line figures are reported by car type for the following car types:
- Box -> A,B,R
- Covered Hopper -> C
- Gondola -> E,G
- Intermodal -> P,Q,S
- Multilevel -> V
- Tank -> T
- Open Top Hopper -> H,J,K
- Other -> L, F
and by car ownership:
- System Car: Owned by the railroad on which it is located
- Foreign RR: Owned by a railroad other than the one on which it is located
- Private: Owned by a non-railroad (i.e., has a car initial that ends in "X") and not leased to a railroad
Train speed
Train Speed measures the line-haul movement between terminals. The average speed is calculated by dividing train-miles by total hours operated, excluding yard and local trains, passenger trains, maintenance of way trains, and terminal time. System-wide average train speeds are given for the following train types:
- Intermodal
- Manifest
- Multilevel
- Coal Unit
- Grain Unit
- All trains
Terminal dwell (hours)
Terminal Dwell is the average time a car resides at the specified terminal location expressed in hours. The measurement begins with a customer release, received interchange, or train arrival event and ends with a customer placement (actual or constructive), delivered or offered in interchange, or train departure event. Cars that move through a terminal on a run-through train are excluded, as are stored, bad ordered, and maintenance of way cars.