A coalition of business groups is calling on the federal government to prevent a work stoppage at Canada鈥檚 two biggest railways.

A phased shutdown of the networks at Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. is already underway as the clock ticks down on contract talks with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference.

Unless deals are reached, rail service at both companies is poised to stop at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Thursday.

In a joint statement Wednesday, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada, Canadian Federation of Independent Business and Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters say Ottawa needs to take action to ensure the continuation of rail services.

They say the federal labour minister can refer the dispute to the Canada Industrial Relations Board for binding arbitration and prohibit a strike, lockout or end any ongoing stoppage pending a resolution.

Alternatively, the business groups suggest the government use back-to-work legislation.

Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon has repeatedly stressed that the parties must hammer out a deal themselves rather than rely on federal intervention, such as back-to-work legislation.

The job action by a total of 9,300 employees at both CN and CPKC would be unprecedented, marking the first-ever simultaneous work stoppage at the country鈥檚 biggest rail companies, experts say.

Their trains haul a combined $1 billion worth of goods per day, from canola to consumer electronics, according to the Railway Association of Canada.

The U.S.-based CSX and Norfolk Southern railways have closed their gates to most cross-border shipments, while shipping giants such as Hapag-Lloyd have made 鈥渃ontingency plans鈥� as others reroute cargo.

More than 32,000 rail commuters across the country will also have to find new routes to the office if there is a work stoppage at CPKC.

Transit authorities have said select commuter lines that run on CPKC tracks in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver will be suspended should dispatchers walk off the job.

The commuter lines affected by the potential work stoppage are TransLink鈥檚 West Coast Express in the Vancouver area, Metrolinx鈥檚 Milton line and the Lakeshore line鈥檚 Hamilton GO station in the Greater Toronto Area, and Exo鈥檚 Candiac, Saint-J茅r么me and Vaudreuil/Hudson lines in the Montreal area.

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