Almost all of Canada’s railway freight, including ones passing through US borders, were stopped on Thursday|David Gubler|CC BY-SA 4.0

Canada’s two major railways, the Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), partially ended a work stoppage after the federal government intervened and ordered the companies into arbitration with the workers’ union that plans to challenge the decision.

The stoppage began on Thursday when CN and CPKC locked out about 9,300 workers due to failed negotiations with the Teamsters union. About 30,000 commuters in Canada who relied on CPKC’s lines were also impacted.

Additionally, almost all of Canada’s railway freight that day, including rail shipments crossing the American border, was stopped. Their worth is over 1 billion Canadian dollars ($730 million).

Key issues in the strike include work schedules and safety concerns. The union resists changes that could lead to worker fatigue.

If the strike goes ahead, it could further disrupt the transportation of goods across Canada and the US, which rely heavily on railroads.