Purolator “Delayed in transit due to rail delay”: what it means

What does “Delayed in transit due to rail delay” mean?

Purolator does not define this line. Its freight pages say it offers rail transport, and its terms list 'disruptions in air or ground transportation networks' as beyond its control, but neither says which courier parcels ride on rail. Commenters disagree: one who says he drives for Purolator and a few others say ground parcels on long routes go by train, while another says rail is only for freight. One customer posted a support agent's reply blaming tracks under repair and rail cars that could not be reached. In tracking histories people share, the line shows up mostly on long trips, such as British Columbia to Ontario or Quebec, and Ontario to British Columbia or Alberta.

The hold-up does not have to be near you. The line often reads 5:00 a.m. at 'PUROLATOR', which is not a place, can repeat two days later, and several people report the same line at the same time, so it looks more like a general update than a scan of your parcel. One shared history shows it on a parcel already at the Calgary sort facility, on its way to a town the poster says has no rail line, and others show it after 'On vehicle for delivery' in the customer's own city. People commenting on these histories explain that a late train can back up deliveries further along the network, though Purolator has not confirmed this. The commenter who says he drives for Purolator adds that rail delay is not a choice on a driver's scanner.

Why does Purolator show it?

• A train running late on a long route
• Track work or a derailment on the line, as one support reply and some posters describe
• Containers or rail cars that could not be unloaded on time
• A backlog at a sort facility after a late train arrives
• Weather or fires along the line, as some commenters suspect
• An earlier delay still working its way through the network

How long does it last?

The next line should be 'Arrived at sort facility' in a city closer to you, then 'On vehicle for delivery'. Purolator gives no time. People who say they work there put a cross-country ground trip at about 4 or 5 working days with no scan on the way, and a rail delay itself at about a day, sometimes two. In the tracking histories people share that we could date, the next scan most often came within about 1 to 4 days. The line can repeat first, and some parcels showed nothing new for about a week, with one at 12 days.