Railroad News

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.

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.

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.

CN yesterday rolled out its 2019-20 winter plan, which explains how the Class I expects to serve its customers during extreme operating conditions.

CN's investments in infrastructure and equipment have increased the resiliency of its network, as well as the railroad's ability to recover during extreme operating conditions, CN officials said in a press release.

The Canadian government has appointed a special negotiator to work with CN on a plan to restore the over century-old Quebec Bridge in Quebec City.

The negotiator is Yvon Charest, former president and chief executive officer of iA Financial Group in Quebec City, federal officials said in a press release issued by Infrastructure Canada.

G3 last week marked the opening of its new high-efficiency grain elevator on a CN line in Maidstone, Saskatchewan.

Similar to the company's other modern grain elevators across western Canada, the new facility features fast truck-unloads and a railway loop track that can load a 150-car train, G3 officials said in a press release.

CN yesterday announced the publication of its 2019-2020 grain plan and the creation of its Agricultural Advisory Council.

The grain plan reviews CN's performance in the previous crop year, during which CN moved over 27.5 million metric tonnes of grain — a record for the Class I.

Ray-Mont Logistics announced this week the construction of a new facility for bagging plastic pellets for shipping out of Port of Prince Rupert in Vancouver, British Columbia.

When completed, the facility will improve the speed and efficiency of plastic pellet exports in containers for producers in Alberta that are served by CN, Ray-Mont officials said this week in a press release.