Of the short-line railways in this country, there are about 20 that come under federal control, and there are about 30 that come under provincial control. They carry products in this country. I think the total of rail transportation by short-lines is 12%. We did consult the short-lines in the development of Bill C-49, and their input is reflected. They are not subject to long-haul interswitching orders or to the new data requirements, as they were considered too burdensome for them.
Many of the concerns raised by short-line associations relate to infrastructure investment and are beyond the scope of Bill C-49. What I'm saying is that the short-line railways here don't have the funding, the capital, the deep pockets, that class I railways have. They are mostly concerned about that, and that is not addressed in Bill C-49.
Short-lines are eligible, on the other hand, to apply for funding under the national trade corridors fund which was announced in July 2017. However, it's true to say that projects involving regional short-lines tend to be to rehabilitate them rather than to eliminate bottlenecks. It's a little bit of a challenge with them.
We are looking at short-lines, though. We realize that they're an important element of the railway system. They're just not covered specifically in Bill C-49.