Program directory · Transport Canada
Rail Safety Oversight
- Department
- Transport Canada
- Program code
- BTW14 (TC)
- Core responsibility
- Safe and Secure Transportation System
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
We oversee federally regulated passenger and freight railway companies to provide Canadians a safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible rail network. We are responsible for verifying that federally regulated railways are compliant with railway safety legislation, regulations, rules and engineering standards through: conducting safety inspections of equipment, operations, track, bridges, crossings, and signals, to verify compliance with federal rules and regulations; performing Safety Management Systems (SMS) audits (which verify the development and implementation of a railway’s SMS); and, when required, taking enforcement action.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rail Safety Oversight | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $202M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | Indicators dropped: 5-year average compliance rate trends to key risk areas, such as: Track Safety Rules, Canadian Rail Operating Rules, Grade Crossing Regulations, Rule 112 of CROR (Securement), and/or any evidence of trespassing | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Indicators added: The percentage of planned risk-based (component B) inspections delivered | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Indicators dropped: The percentage of planned risk-based oversight activities delivered | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | ≥ 100% | 2023 | 106% | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 100% | 2024 | 99% Failure : Overall planned B inspection targets were met resulting in a 99% completion rate compared to the planned inspections. The variance can be attributed to one region having to shuffle roles due to a shortage of staff, various between the number of planned inspections that were not reflected in Rail Safety's inspection tracking system (RSIG) as well as inspections that were still not closed… | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 100% | 2025 | 100% | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 80% | 2019 | 102% | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 100% | 2020 | — Rail Safety is currently not calculating this indicator, unable to do so, the PIP’s format wants us to have a one number answer for all functions, and we can’t because each functional group is different, and measures things differently. | No result reported |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 80% | 2021 | 101% | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 80% | 2022 | 104.1% | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | ≤ 80% | 2020 | — Rail Safety is currently not calculating this indicator because each functional group is different, and measures things differently | No result reported |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 60% | 2021 | — Rail Safety is not reporting on this indicator. Rail Safety is amending its PIPs to better reflect its operations. | No result reported |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 100% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $22.8M | $24.4M |
| 2019-20 | $18.4M | $24.2M |
| 2020-21 | $23.8M | $25.3M |
| 2021-22 | $25.9M | $26.3M |
| 2022-23 | $24.8M | $30.3M |
| 2023-24 | $26.5M | $35.9M |
| 2024-25 | $30.7M | $35.2M |
| 2025-26 | $32.2M | — |
| 2026-27 | $32.1M | — |
| 2027-28 | $32.4M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $31.7M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 193 | 183 |
| 2019-20 | 145 | 181 |
| 2020-21 | 203 | 189 |
| 2021-22 | 210 | 194 |
| 2022-23 | 206 | 214 |
| 2023-24 | 200 | 224 |
| 2024-25 | 230 | 227 |
| 2025-26 | 223 | — |
| 2026-27 | 206 | — |
| 2027-28 | 208* | — |
| 2028-29 | 201* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $22,789,404 | $16,873,279 | $16,873,279 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $18,443,169 | $16,217,432 | $16,286,019 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $23,769,244 | $23,934,715 | $23,979,355 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $25,915,827 | $24,961,508 | $17,321,112 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $24,810,000 | $17,078,138 | $17,029,953 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $26,461,976 | $20,001,040 | $19,733,376 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $30,666,852 | $28,198,647 | $18,805,146 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $32,162,461 | $23,137,189 | $23,590,947 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $32,066,842 | $32,396,662 | $31,707,648 | ||||||||
| Actual | $24,395,755 | $24,191,841 | $25,338,464 | $26,293,961 | $30,269,961 | $35,904,641 | $35,195,043 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
