Insights
Field knowledge, written down.
Practical articles on how railway construction, maintenance, emergency response, and procurement actually work in Western Canada.
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Written for track owners, shippers, municipalities, and procurement teams who need to understand the work before they buy it.
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What a contractor needs to estimate track rehabilitation
Prepare location, condition records, quantities, access windows, and scope boundaries for a more useful railway rehabilitation estimate.
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What affects the cost of an industrial rail spur?
Understand the scope behind a rail spur estimate: civil work, track materials, turnouts, railway interfaces, access, and commissioning.
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What to include in a railway maintenance RFP
A practical scope checklist for rail owners requesting comparable maintenance bids, from quantities and access to acceptance and exclusions.
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Winter planning for industrial rail facilities in Western Canada
Organize inspection, snow-clearing responsibilities, access, materials, and contractor coordination before winter affects a rail facility.
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What a hi-rail truck does on a railway job
How hi-rail vehicles get onto the track, the trucks and machines that carry rail gear, the rules that come with them, and the jobs that cannot be done without one.
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What to have ready when you call for derailment response
The information a rail contractor needs in the first five minutes of a derailment call, and how it shortens the time to a cleared, inspected, reopened track.
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Thermite welding vs. bolted joints on industrial track
Why joint elimination reduces maintenance on spurs and yards, when a bolted joint still makes sense, and what a field thermite weld actually involves.
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Planning an industrial rail spur: questions to answer before design
A practical checklist for shippers and developers considering rail service in Alberta, BC, or Saskatchewan, from serving-railway agreements to turnout locations and construction windows.
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Sequencing a production tie gang around live operations
How tie replacement programs are scoped, how material flow and track time shape production, and what an owner should expect behind the gang.
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What track surfacing fixes, and what it does not
Tamping, lining, and regulating explained for track owners: the geometry problems surfacing corrects, the defects it cannot, and how to tell the difference.
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Wildfire season and the railway: how hi-rail fire prevention works
How hi-rail water trucks, fire watch, and pre-wetting protect bridges, poles, tree lines, and buildings along the right of way during hot-work and fire-ban conditions.
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COR, TIGS, and rail contractor prequalification: what to verify
A procurement guide to the safety certifications, training designations, and public records worth checking before awarding railway construction or maintenance work in Western Canada.
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Renting a tamper or regulator: what to ask before it ships
Questions that keep a rail equipment rental from going wrong: operator qualification, transport, track access, consumables, and what the rental does and does not include.
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5 articles
Emergency Response
1 article
Safety & Compliance
1 article
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