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A backlog in rail transport could mean massive losses for farmers and grain companies that can’t move crops off the Prairies.

The agriculture sector is using the crunch to push for tougher federal regulation of railroads. Railway companies are blaming their troubles on bad weather.

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In the week ending Feb. 10, more than half of all hopper-car orders placed with Canada’s two major railway companies went unfilled. That left more than 3,600 orders outstanding, and car rationing at five times the level seen the year before.

Daryl Fransoo, Saskatchewan director for Western Canadian Wheat Growers, said the bottleneck is depressing the market and leaving farmers without money to pay their bills.

“We’re facing conditions that are very similar to 2013, where farmers lost billions of dollars due to the lack of service provided by the railways,” said Fransoo. “It’s pretty grave right now.”

He said the glut has continued for months and is only getting worse. Most of the delays are for westbound shipments heading to the Pacific, and Saskatchewan farmers are just as affected as growers in Manitoba and Alberta.