What does "arrived at destination rail ramp" mean for your container?
"Arrived at destination rail ramp" means your container's train has reached the inland ramp, such as CN Brampton or CPKC Vaughan. It does not yet mean a truck can take it: the container must first be available, released and free of holds. Send Setara Transport dispatch the container number, and we tell you what is still missing.
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What does each rail status mean?
Each railway uses its own words. The labels below are CN's, from its Quick Trace event codes. CPKC shows status in its own tracking, and its tariff calls the key moment "available for pick-up".
Arrived
The train reached a location on its route. On its own, this can be a stop along the way, not your ramp.
At destination
The train reached the final yard or terminal, such as CN Brampton. This is the "arrived at destination" status. The container can still be on the railcar.
Deramped
The container is off the train. CN describes this event as available for pick up. On CPKC, look for available for pick-up.
Notified
The railway has sent its notice to the customer. It may go to only one party, such as your forwarder or customs broker.
Hold and cleared hold
A hold stops the container. CN's hold reasons include customs, awaiting the steamship release, embargo and congestion. Cleared hold means it was lifted.
Out-gate
The container went out the terminal gate. Per diem, the ocean line's detention charge, starts when the container leaves the ramp.
An ETA is an estimate. CN logs an ETA event each time one is set or changed. In its intermodal shipping guide, CPKC calls the availability in its schedule an estimate. For a more accurate ETA, it points customers to its own tracking.
Why does the ocean line's tracking not match the railway's?
Your ocean line tracks the whole trip and shows its own events. The railway tracks the rail leg and the ramp. Each logs its events at its own time, so the two can disagree for a while.
For the pickup, go by the railway. The container leaves the ramp only when the railway's record shows it available, released and free of holds.
CN lists its tracing tools on Monitor your shipments. Quick Trace shows status, location and ETA. Intermodal Shipment Status shows the customs status, the steamship status, the first storage date and any amount due.
CPKC customers log in to Customer Station for shipment tracing, notifications and bulletins. No railway account? Ask whoever booked the rail move, or send us the container number.
- Available, or deramped
- No hold
- Customs status
- Steamship status
- First storage day
Labels differ by railway. Read the one for your ramp.
What has to be true before a truck can pull it?
Five things, all at once. Miss one and the container stays at the ramp, whatever the tracking says.
Available at the ramp
The railway has it off the train and shows it available. At CN, that is the Deramped event.
Customs release
Your customs broker requests the customs release from CBSA. Setara Transport is a carrier and does not clear customs.
Ocean line release
The line releases the container once its charges are paid and its terms are met. Then it issues the pickup number.
Storage paid or guaranteed
Any railway storage owing is paid or guaranteed first. CN asks for a zero balance before pickup is arranged.
No other hold
A customs exam, a line hold or a railway hold stops it until the party that placed it lifts it.
The two releases, and what to send for them, are on what to do with an arrival notice.
When does the storage clock start?
Free time at the ramp is short and set by the railway's tariff, and the clock can keep running on weekends. It starts from availability, not from the train's arrival.
In CN's Quick Trace, the first storage day stays blank until the Deramped event, when the container is physically off the train.
CPKC's intermodal services tariff starts the clock at the beginning of the day after the container is available for pick-up. Every day the terminal is open counts.
Storage is billed by the railway. Demurrage is billed by the ocean line. Each one runs on its own clock. Both are explained on storage, demurrage and per diem.
After pickup, the line's per diem runs until the empty is returned. See when per diem stops.
- The railway's last free day
- The ocean line's last free day
- Whether weekends count
If the two dates differ, plan to the earlier one.
Who can pick it up today?
It depends on the releases, the ramp and the schedule that day, so we do not promise a time here.
Call dispatch with the container number and the last free day, and we give you the earliest pickup we can offer. A truck cannot clear a hold, so we book once the container is released.
What if a strike, an embargo or congestion stops it?
A rail strike or lockout stops trains, and containers wait where they are. Read what happens to your container during a rail strike. An embargo, a congested ramp or a move off site changes the pickup and the charges. Read rail embargoes and ramp congestion. If a delay that was not yours ran up storage or demurrage, see whether those charges can be waived.
What does Setara Transport do?
We haul 53 foot domestic containers, dry and reefer, on the truck legs between the ramp and your dock. We do not book the rail.
- The container number
- The pickup number from your ocean line
- The ramp: CN Brampton or CPKC Vaughan
- The last free day
- The delivery address and receiving hours
- The cargo weight in each container
- Check the releases and holds, and tell you what is still missing
- Book the pickup at the ramp: the CN Brampton gate appointment or the CPKC Vaughan pickup
- Pull the container on our own chassis
- Deliver it across the GTA and Ontario
- Bring the empty back to the ramp or the depot your ocean line names
Live unload with the driver waiting, or a drop if you have the yard space. Tell us which at tender. Delivery runs across Peel, York, Halton, Toronto and Durham, and out into the rest of Ontario. Ramp details: CN Brampton and CPKC Vaughan.
Container status questions.
What does arrived at destination rail ramp mean?
What does deramped mean?
Is available the same as released?
Can you pick up the container the day it arrives?
Where do I track a container on CN or CPKC?
More answers for importers.
What do you do with an arrival notice?
The notice, the two releases and what to sendWhat are storage and demurrage at the ramp?
Two charges, two clocks, and how to keep them downWhen does per diem stop?
The ocean line's clock after the container leaves the rampWhat does a rail embargo mean?
Embargoes, congested ramps and off-site movesWhat do drayage terms mean?
The words on the paperwork, in plain EnglishAll answers
Every answer for importers and forwardersContainer at the ramp? Send us the number.
The container number, the pickup number, the ramp and the last free day.