THE CANADIAN-ONLY TRANSCONTINENTAL ... ISN'T.

The two historic Candian railways, pioneer Canadian Pacific and onetime government agency Canadien National (as they would have it in Quebec), once operated from the Atlantic to the Pacific.  Canadian Pacific's routing east of Montreal reached Saint John, New Brunswick, cutting through Maine.  (For a while, that line belonged to one or another regional companies, it has recently been acquired again by Canadian Pacific.)  Canadian National operated an all-Canada line as far as Halifax, following the St. Lawrence River to the north.

Thanks to the ongoing insurgency (or is it a protest against moving oil by any method?)  Canadian National are embargoing service throughout eastern Canada.

“With more than 400 trains canceled during the past week and new protests that emerged at strategic locations on our main line, we have decided that a progressive shutdown of our Eastern Canadian operations is the responsible approach to take for the safety of our employees and the protestors,” said CN President and CEO JJ Ruest. “This situation is regrettable for its impact on the economy and on our railroaders, as these protests are unrelated to CN’s activities, and beyond our control. Our shutdown will be progressive and methodical to ensure that we are well set up for recovery, which will come when the illegal blockades end completely.

“Unfortunately, intercity VIA Rail service will be discontinued across our Canadian network. However, commuter rail services, such as Metrolinx and Exo, can keep operating so long as they can do so safely. I would like to thank our customers, international supply-chain partners and industry associations for their support to get this unprecedented ordeal resolved.”

Canadian National are attempting to run more freight trains across their lines than they can really fit, including into the sidings, and the passenger service has long been hammered by the resulting congestion.

As yet, the sympathy protests appear to be confined to First Nation populations within Canada.  Whether the sovereign nations within the United States will participate in solidarity remains to be seen.