Rail Security Program

Department: Transport Canada
Program code: BTW19 (TC)
Core responsibility: Safe and Secure Transportation System
In Departmental Plans: 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan

What it does

Millions of people rely on Canada’s roads, rail, and marine networks for their travel and shipping needs. The Rail Security Program is responsible for ensuring that companies are in compliance with rail and intermodal surface security legislation, regulations, policies and standards.

The program accomplishes this by:

• conducting oversight activities (inspections) of our stakeholders to assess compliance;

• conducting outreach activities with our stakeholders and providing them with guidance and intelligence, such as security threat and risk assessment information;

• reviewing, analyzing, developing, and implementing security policies in order to enhance rail and intermodal security;

• working closely with railway carriers and railway loaders, passenger rail companies, and international bridge and tunnel owners and operators to share information and best practices that improve rail and intermodal transportation security;

• working closely with federal partners and other levels of government to share information and make decisions that improve rail and intermodal transportation security.

The goal of the Rail Security Program is to ensure that the security of the rail and intermodal transportation system across Canada is maintained to the highest possible standard.

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).

Bars: spending by fiscal year (dark: actual; light: actual restated on the 2017-18 program structure; outlined: the latest plan's forecast; grey: related programs). Bands: each program in the lineage over the years it has data. The line at the bottom shows this program's names over time.

Program	Relation	Years with data	Actual spending over those years
Rail Security Program	This program	2018-19 – 2028-29	$31.2M

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 added: Percentage of planned risk-based oversight activities completed under ISSO’s Voluntary Program; The percentage of planned risk-based oversight activities completed under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods by Rail Security Regulations and the Passenger Rail Security Regulations.	Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase)
2021-22	Indicators dropped: The percentage of International Tunnels and Bridges owner/operator Memorandum of Understanding signatories that met their security exercise requirements	Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase)
2022-23	Indicators added: Percentage of passenger rail stakeholders who are aware of regulatory requirements under the Passenger Rail Transportation Security Regulations; Percentage of TDG freight railway stakeholders who are aware of the regulatory requirements under the TDG by Rail Security Regulations	Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase)
2022-23	Indicators dropped: Percentage of planned risk-based oversight activities completed under ISSO’s Voluntary Program; Percentage of planned risk-based oversight activities under the Memorandum of Understanding between Transport Canada and International Bridge and Tunnel officials that have been completed; The percentage of of planned risk-based oversight activities completed under the Transport Canada-Railway Association of Canada Memorandum of Understanding on Railway Security; The percentage of planned risk-based oversight activities completed under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods by Rail Security Regulations and the Passenger Rail Security Regulations.	Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase)
2025-26	Indicators added: Percentage of passenger rail stakeholders who have submitted their rail security coordinator information to the Minister.; Percentage of TDG freight railway carriers who have submitted their rail security coordinator information to the Minister.	Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase)
2025-26	Indicators dropped: Percentage of passenger rail stakeholders who are aware of regulatory requirements under the Passenger Rail Transportation Security Regulations; Percentage of TDG freight railway stakeholders who are aware of the regulatory requirements under the TDG by Rail Security Regulations	Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase)
2025-26	Renamed from “Intermodal Surface Security Oversight” to “Rail Security Program”.	GC InfoBase program names by year

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

Percentage of passenger rail stakeholders who are aware of regulatory requirements under the Passenger Rail Transportation Security Regulations

Expected result: Stakeholders are aware of regulatory requirements under the Passenger Rail Transportation Security Regulations