CN, CPR move to beef up border security - Rail Update

Railway Age, May, 2003

Canada's two major railroads have joined Canadian and U.S. customs agencies in a "statement of principles" for enhanced border security. The statement, announced last month in Ottawa, includes guidelines for installing imaging and radiation detection equipment at Canadian National and Canadian Pacific border crossings.

"The operating procedures that underpin this agreement will stress the importance of focusing enforcement efforts on high-risk containers," said Rob Wright, Commissioner of the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA).

The U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CPB) and CCRA worked with CN and CP on ways to keep U.S.-bound rail shipments safe while maintaining the flow of trade between the two countries. The project is part of a larger effort aimed at implementing the Smart Border Declaration, which was adopted by Canada and the U.S. in December 2001 following the 9/11 terrorist attacks

The principles agreed upon by the four parties outline methods for targeting, screening, and examining rail shipments transported by CP and CN, including guidelines for collecting advanced electronic manifest information and installing imaging and radiation detection equipment at seven border crossings utilized by the two Class I's. A key aspect of the program is focusing enforcement efforts on high-risk containers, according to CCRA Commissioner Rob Wright.

The railroads and customs officials expect to implement the principles over the next few months. In addition, CN and CP were accredited under CBP's Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program, a government-business initiative designed to strengthen supply chain and border activity.

In a related matter, CN and customs broker Livingston International developed an electronic link to increase the speed and accuracy of customs clearance processes for Canadian importers. CN sends manifest information to Livingston electronically instead of by fax, eliminating the need for the data to be inputted manually. Such information as an importer's name automatically triggers the transmission of t he manifest directly from CN to one of 40 client service groups at Livingston, and after further processing is sent electronically to CCRA officials for clearance.