Railway - Annual Report (AR)
Detailed information for 2011
Status:
Active
Frequency:
Annual
Record number:
2734
This survey collects data from common carrier railways operating in Canada which are essential for the analysis of the Railway Transport Industry and the assessment of its contribution to the Canadian economy. These data provide input into Canada's System of National Accounts for the calculation of the Gross Domestic Product and are used by various Government Departments to develop policy and to monitor the industry.
Data release - March 25, 2013
Description
The survey collects annual financial, operating and employment data on railways operating in Canada. The data are used as input to the Canadian System of National Accounts, by Transport Canada, other federal and provincial departments, and by transportation companies, consulting firms, universities and foreign governments. The information is used for the analysis of transportation activity, for marketing and economic studies, as well as industry performance measures.
Statistical activity
This statistical activity is part of a set of surveys measuring various aspects of activities related to the movement of people and goods. These surveys are grouped as follows:
Transportation by air includes records related to the movement of aircraft, passengers and cargo by air for both Canadian and foreign air carriers operating in Canada as well as the financial and operating characteristics of Canadian air carriers. These data are produced by the Aviation Statistics Centre.
Transportation by rail includes records relating to rail transportation in Canada, and between the United States and Canada.
Transportation by road includes records relating to all road transport in Canada. In addition to surveying carriers and owners of registered motor vehicles, certain programs rely on aggregation of provincial and territorial administrative records.
Reference period: Annual
Subjects
- Transportation
- Transportation by rail
Data sources and methodology
Target population
Common carrier railways operating in Canada that provide passenger and freight services. Excluded from the survey are companies that provide rail support services (bridges, terminal services, etc.) and sightseeing tours.
Instrument design
The survey questionnaire was developed in collaboration with specialists from Statistics Canada, Transport Canada and the Canadian railway industry. The questions were field tested to ensure that they were reasonable and sustainable. The questionnaire has remained stable over the years.
Sampling
This survey is a census with a cross-sectional design.
Data are collected for all units of the target population, therefore, no sampling is done.
Data sources
Responding to this survey is mandatory.
Data are collected directly from survey respondents.
Financial and operating statistics are collected from a mail census of common carrier railways operating in Canada. Companies falling under federal jurisdiction report data on schedules or forms, specified by Transport Canada directly to Transport Canada. Other railway carriers report directly to Statistics Canada on the same schedules or forms. Individual reports undergo comprehensive review upon receipt and are edited for consistency and reliability.
View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .
Error detection
The answers on filed documents are compared with the responses of the previous year for consistency. The data are also validated through the use of various computerized edits to check the addition and subtraction of completed fields as well as the relationships between selected fields. Invalid records are rejected and corrected.
Imputation
Missing or incorrect values are modelled only if all efforts to obtain the required actual figures have failed.
Estimation
This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.
Quality evaluation
The combined survey results are analyzed before dissemination. In general, this includes a detailed review of the data, a review of general economic conditions as well as historic trends and comparisons with other data sources.
Users are advised to consult the Uniform Classification of Accounts for concepts and reporting definitions as survey results may be misconstrued or improperly interpreted without prior knowledge of the accounts. For example, carriers may report total traffic over their tracks, hence operating statistics, such as passenger car-kilometers and freight car-kilometers may be duplicated.
Disclosure control
Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential.
If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data. Data for a specific industry or variable may be suppressed (along with that of a second industry or variable) if the number of enterprises in the population is too low.
Revisions and seasonal adjustment
Annual estimates are provided for the reference year. The data for the previous reference year are revised if necessary. As this is an annual program, seasonal adjustments are not applicable.
Data accuracy
While considerable effort is made to ensure high standards throughout all stages of collection and processing, the resulting estimates are inevitably subject to a certain degree of error. These errors can be broken down into two major types: non-sampling and sampling. Since the survey is a census of the target population, only non-sampling errors are possible.
Non-sampling errors may occur for many reasons. For example, non-response is an important source of non-sampling error. Population coverage, differences in the interpretation of questions, incorrect information from respondents, and mistakes in recording, coding and processing data are other examples of non-sampling errors.
Non-sampling errors are controlled through a careful design of the questionnaire, the use of a minimal number of simple concepts and consistency checks. Coverage error was minimized by using multiple sources to update the frame. Measures such as response rates are used as indicators of the possible extent of non-sampling errors. For the survey, final response rate is very high - approaching 100%; however, slow reporting is sometimes an issue.
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