The Farmer Rail Car Coalition could save farmers millions of dollars, if they are successful in their application to acquire and manage the federal government's 13,000 grain hopper cars, said the Canadian Wheat Board.

The rail car coalition spoke to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport on Monday.

The wheat board approved a loan of $25,000 at its January board meeting, which is in addition to a grant of $85,000 and a previous loan of $50,000 to the coalition. The two loans are repayable to the Wheat Board if the rail car coalition succeeds in acquiring the fleet of grain cars.

"This is a small investment with the potential for huge returns. The FRCC has put forward the only proposal for the divestment of the federal hopper car fleet that is cost effective, resolves the issue of the revenue cap for maintenance of the cars, and allows for replacement of the fleet and puts farmers, not the railways or grain companies, in control," said Ken Ritter, chair of the CWB board.

The CWB has also spoken before the House of Commons committee in support of the rail car coalition.