AICBA
Office of the Press Secretary
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reminding air carriers and the traveling public that the temporary Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) accommodation allowing U.S. citizens to travel by air within the Western Hemisphere using a Department of State (DOS) official proof of passport application receipt will end as scheduled at midnight on Sept. 30, 2007. U.S. citizens who departed the country under this travel accommodation prior to Oct. 1 with a Department of State official proof of passport application receipt and government-issued identification will be readmitted with these same documents if returning to the United States after Sept. 30.
As a reminder, through Sept. 30, 2007, U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, or Bermuda who have applied for, but not yet received, passports can temporarily enter and depart from the United States by air with a government issued photo identification and DOS official proof of application for a passport.
Effective Oct. 1, 2007, U.S. Citizens traveling by air to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda must present a passport or other WHTI-compliant documentation to enter or depart from the United States. It is always strongly recommended that U.S. Citizens verify the specific documentary requirements for their destination country.
DHS and DOS announced the temporary WHTI accommodation for air travel in June. The federal government made this accommodation due to longer than expected processing times for passport applications in the face of record-breaking demand.
WHTI was mandated by Congress in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, and addresses core 9/11 Commission findings for secure and reliable identification documents. It requires all travelers to and from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda to present a passport or other approved document that establishes the bearer's identity and nationality in order to enter or re-enter the United States. For more information about WHTI approved travel documentation, please visit our website at www.dhs.gov. For information on obtaining a U.S. passport please go to www.travel.state.gov.
TRIEX Implementation in Obico ON Terminal on Saturday, 15 Sep. 2007
and Sunday, 16 Sep. 2007
I.E. Canada
(CSCB)
The following notice is from Claudio Minello, General Manager, International at Canadian Pacific.
CP is in the process of implementing TRIEX (Truck, Rail, Intermodal EXcellence), an end-to-end shipment management solution that will utilize new processes and technology to enhance our Intermodal product for both you and CP.
CP has been implementing this technology in stages. This technology upgrade has already been implemented in three Canadian terminals and four US terminals.
This bulletin is to advise you that over the weekend of Saturday, 15 September 2007 and Sunday, 16 September 2007, we will be deploying this technology at our Obico ON terminal.
As a reminder, the Obico terminal is closed to regular traffic on weekends.
No containers will be able to be ingated or outgated during this time period. Service interruptions may be expected. Where feasible, we encourage you to bring shipments into the terminal on Friday, 14 September 2007 for gate processing.
Train operations in and out of our Obico terminal will not be impacted by this short-term truck gate restriction. All other CP Intermodal terminals will be working normal business hours.
Canada will accept U.S.-registered Mexican trucks
Courtney Tower / The JOURNAL of COMMERCE ONLINE
OTTAWA -- Canada will accept any Mexican trucks that enter the country from the United States under Department of Transport registration, a Canadian transport official said Thursday.
"Without looking at the license plate, you wouldn’t know the difference," between a Mexican, U.S. or Canadian truck operating in Canada, Brian Orrbine, chief of the motor carriers division of Transport Canada, said in an interview.
There would be no Mexico-Canada agreement needed for Mexican trucks to start operating in Canada, Orrbine said.
A federal appeals court in San Francisco this week refused to grant an emergency injunction blocking the U.S. Department of Transportation's cross-border trucking program. A total of 100 pre-selected Mexican trucking companies are expected to shortly begin a year of trial operations in the United States.
"If the Mexican truck has a U.S. DOT-registered number, that will be acceptable to Canada, Orrbine said. Canada-registered trucks are already accepted in the United States.
Transport Canada is also studying a proposal to equip commercial trucks with technology limiting speeds to 105 kilometers per hour (65 mph).
The province of Ontario has promised to make a limiter mandatory for trucks; an all-party legislative committee in neighboring Quebec has endorsed the idea. The two provinces host most of the Canada-United States cross-border trucking. Orrbine said several studies will be completed later this year after which the proposal will be up for federal and provincial discussion early in 2008.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance, representing major trucking companies and some owner-operators, supports the limiter. Private carriers, such as huge retail and automotive companies, and many owner-operators, are against the proposal.
Most Canadian highways have speed limits of 100 kph (60 mph), and the laws should simply be enforced, opponents say.
CP Rail to buy largest U.S. regional railway
CSCB
This article is excerpted from the 5 September 2007 edition of "globeandmail.com".
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. [CP-T] said it planned to buy the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp for at least $1.48-billion (U.S.) to expand its network and increase its access to U.S. Midwest markets.
Canada's No. 2 railway will expand by about 2,500 miles of track in acquiring DM&E, the largest U.S. regional railway, CP Rail said late on Tuesday.
… CP Rail… expects the deal to close in the next 30 to 60 days….
DM&E, which serves eight states, has been pursuing a strategy to become the third rail carrier in Wyoming's Powder River Basin, North America's largest and most rapidly growing source of low-cost, low-sulphur coal, CP Rail said….
