CPKC Reviews
38% would recommend to a friend
(1042 total reviews)
Keith Creel
53% approve of CEO
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Found 1,042 of over 1K reviews
Updated Nov 27, 2023
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Top Review Highlights by Sentiment
Excerpts from user reviews, not authored by Glassdoor
- "Pay was good and all the workers made sure that the new hires new what they were doing" (in 143 reviews)
- "Good benefits and that's about it other than a feed every so often when you reach an almost impossible goal" (in 116 reviews)
- "No work life balance Bully Style Management from Top to bottom ( they are encouraged and coached that way) Tough environment to work in" (in 92 reviews)
- "Middle managers have too many direct reports and cannot effectively monitor and coach their performance." (in 41 reviews)
- "Poor culture: expectations are to work excessive hours with no regard for other responsibilities/family" (in 23 reviews)
Ratings by Demographics
This rating reflects the overall rating of CPKC and is not affected by filters.
- 4.0FEATURED REVIEWNov 27, 2023Corporate OfficeCurrent Employee, more than 8 yearsCalgary, AB
Pros
Active, progressive, established company, bright future
Cons
Can be intense, no WFH (currently)
- 5.0Dec 17, 2022Yard WorkerFormer Employee
Pros
Good work environment for employees.
Cons
None that I can think of.
- 3.0Oct 29, 2023Railroad ConductorCurrent Employee, more than 1 year
Pros
This is a high-paying entry-level job. If none of the cons around schedule and culture bother you, it is a good place to make some good money and have good health care and other benefits Compensation is good and under the new contract, conductors will make over $51/hour in 2024. Show up for work, and you are automatically paid 10 hours, and often get that plus some overtime. I worked a train recently, and the gross pay was over $750 for that 14-hour night. Benefits are also good.
Cons
Many of the cons to working as a conductor for CPKC are the same, or nearly the same, across the freight rail industry. The biggest con is the schedule. When you start, you work off of an 'extraboard' with a 2-hour call window. You might sit for two days as the next person to be called, or you might be called the minute you are rested from the last trip. There is no regular work schedule. There is also no vacation for the first year, though you do get 4 paid leave days. You can take one no-questions-asked sick day per month, but if a couple of them touch on your off days over a few months there will be questions which could lead to a longer period of time off without pay. Also, taking a sick day means that you will not be paid the weekly guarantee that is in place for weeks when the extra board slows down. Your PL days are by request, and sometimes you can't get the day you want because someone else has taken it. You could call off sick that day instead, but then again, there may be questions. Training is haphazard, at least in the OJT portion. After you complete it and are working, you often wonder why they didn't explicitly teach something that would have been useful for the work in front of you. Communication within management and from management to those of us in train and engine service is equally haphazard. Also, training for lower and middle management leaves the same kind of knowledge gaps as conductor training does. Once you are a qualified conductor, you are regularly "efficiency tested." A middle manager with a quota of failures to hand out will watch you work. It is usually not an adverse outcome, but there is a "gotcha" culture around these tests. This is especially true when the "gotcha" is for one of those things not specifically covered in training or that was actually taught as the correct procedure. This "gotcha" culture is so common in the industry that conductors and engineers often have "can insurance" for when they are given time off without pay.
- 3.0Sep 14, 2023Rail Traffic Controller (Train Dispatcher)Current Employee, more than 10 yearsMinneapolis, MN
Pros
Railroad retirement, good medical, decent coworkers, fun job when territories are not combined to the point of being unmanageable.
Cons
One of the lowest paid class 1 railroads in a city with a high cost of living. Unprofessional upper management that believes yelling and screaming is the best way to improve employee productivity. Constantly understaffed because we cannot retain employees. Poor morale in all departments.
1 - 3.0Oct 12, 2023Transportation Services RepresentativeFormer Employee, more than 5 yearsMinneapolis, MN
Pros
Union, good people, great location
Cons
Long hours, union, little margin for error
- 2.0Nov 8, 2023Train DispatcherCurrent Employee
Pros
Great money Biweekly pay Healthcare Eye care Dental care
Cons
No home life Stressful Toxic environment Never know your schedule Big corporation
- 1.0Nov 13, 2023Division TrainmasterFormer Employee, more than 5 yearsMinot, ND
Pros
The people in the crafts are by far the best in the industry.
Cons
The people in the management ranks are by far the worst in the industry
- 2.0Oct 11, 2023IT SpecialistCurrent Employee, more than 8 yearsMinneapolis, MN
Pros
Good pay and good benefits.
Cons
Communication sucks and goals are not clearly expressed. In addition, the environment is a culture of fear and intimidation (i.e., "get it done or else")
- 1.0Aug 5, 2023Individual ContributorFormer Employee, more than 8 yearsKansas City, MO
Pros
Decent pay. Good people at the lower levels.
Cons
KCS came out on the losing side of the CPKC merger. The top tier took care of themselves with huge separate packages and left the rest of us to fend for ourselves. The new environment is toxic chaos involving bad treatment of employees. Only a few make decisions with no input from below. If you decide to work here, be prepared to keep your head down and mouth shut.
2 - 2.0Sep 27, 2023Locomotive EngineerFormer Employee, more than 5 yearsOttumwa, IA
Pros
You can make money fast and easily
Cons
It has a Terrible work/life balance. No advancement past engineer.
CPKC Reviews FAQs
CPKC has an overall rating of 2.9 out of 5, based on over 1,124 reviews left anonymously by employees. 38% of employees would recommend working at CPKC to a friend and 55% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has decreased by -4% over the last 12 months.
38% of CPKC employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews. Employees also rated CPKC 2.0 out of 5 for work life balance, 2.4 for culture and values and 3.1 for career opportunities.
According to reviews on Glassdoor, employees commonly mention the pros of working at CPKC to be management, career development, benefits and the cons to be culture, work life balance.
