Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau plans to introduce legislation next spring that will advance Canada’s Rail Transportation system.

Garneau says as part of the plan they will establish the ability to apply reciprocal penalties between railway companies and their customers in their service level agreements.

They will better define "adequate and suitable service", improve access and timelines for Canadian Transportation Agency decisions and address the future of the Maximum Revenue Entitlement and extended interswitching.

He notes they will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure there’s a proper balance in place to create a freight rail system that is even more competitive and efficient in the long term.

Garneau released his Transportation 2030 plan in Montreal on Thursday.