Railroad News

Rail News Home Canadian National Railway - CN 7/8/2020 Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN
CN yesterday announced it achieved another monthly record in June, moving 2.7 million metric tons (MMT) of Canadian grain. In the first half of 2020, the Class I moved 15 MMT. That also represents a new all-time best quarter for CN with 8.15 MMT moved. June also was CN's fourth consecutive month of record grain movements, contributing to the railroad's record pace crop-year-to-date through June of 26.9 MMT versus the previous record of 26.5 MMT set last crop year. In addition, the Class I moved more than 1 MMT of Canadian grain from the Prairies crop year to date via container, which contributed to the railroad's record pace of Canadian grain intermodal shipments. "Despite all the difficulties we faced earlier this year, we are confident that the high volume of shipments experienced in June will continue until the end of the crop year and that CN and our partners of the supply chain will continue to deliver for the grain industry," said Allen Foster, CN's vice president of bulk, in a press release.  

CN announced this week it will invest nearly CA$1.3 billion this year in capital expenditures on infrastructure in the provinces of British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta and Quebec.

In British Columbia, the CA$445 million investment will include expansion projects that will add track in yards and new sidings. CN also will continue spending on multiyear initiatives to increase capacity at the Port of Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert in collaboration with the Canadian government, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and the Prince Rupert Port Authority.

Rail News Home Canadian National Railway - CN 6/29/2020 Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN
The capital expenditures are a "key part of our strategy to support growth" in both provinces, CN officials saidPhoto – cn.ca

CN will invest CA$305 million in Alberta and CA$235 million in Quebec this year to strengthen its rail network, the Class I announced last week.

In Alberta, capital expenditures will include expansion projects such as the construction of double track to allow more trains to pass on CN's mainline. The maintenance program will focus on the replacement of 71 miles of rail, installation of 210,000 new ties, rebuilding of 28 grade crossing surfaces, and maintenance work on bridges, culverts, signal systems and other track infrastructure.

Rail News Home Canadian National Railway - CN 6/12/2020 Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN
The Ridley Island terminal exclusively uses CN's network to transport propane from Alberta and British Columbia for export to global markets.Photo – cn.ca

CN announced yesterday that three vessels carrying Canadian propane destined for international markets departed from the AltaGas Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal in British Columbia, beating a previous record by 50 percent.

The Ridley Island terminal exclusively uses CN's network to transport propane from Alberta and British Columbia for export to global markets. Since it launched in 2019, the terminal has moved more than 1 million metric tons of propane, CN officials said in a press release.

Rail News Home Canadian National Railway - CN 6/2/2020 Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN
CN announced yesterday it moved more than 2.52 million metric tons (MMT) of western Canadian grain last month, ahead of the previous May record of 2.4 MMT set in 2014 and over 20 percent ahead of the three-year average. The results follow record grain hauls in March and April, when CN moved 2.62 MMT and 2.74 MMT, respectively, from western Canada. During the 2019-2020 crop year, CN has moved 23.3 MMT of western Canadian grain. When considering Canada-wide performance, CN also set a record for May with more than 2.6 MMT moved compared with the previous record of 2.52 MMT set in 2014, CN officials said in a press release. "This has not been an easy year for farmers or for the supply chain, yet by working closely with our customers, we have been able to adapt and deliver," said James Cairns, CN's senior vice president of rail centric supply chain. "This crop year has seen wet weather delay the harvest, service disruptions, and a pandemic, all of which have impacted the supply chain and yet the results continue to set records."