Railroad News

The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) has ratified a new five-year contract with CN, the railroad announced yesterday.

The agreement, which runs through Dec. 31, 2022, provides wage and benefit increases each year that it's in effect. The pact also modifies work rules that were "of concern to both CN and engineers," CN officials said in a press release.

CN plans to acquire 1,000 new generation high-cube grain hopper cars over the next two years, the Class I announced today.

The investment is aimed at rejuvenating aging equipment needed to serve increasing annual crop yields, CN officials said in a press release. The new jumbo hopper cars will have 5,431 cubic feet of capacity.

CN has pleaded guilty to violating the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and will pay a CA$25,000 fine as well as a CA$1.1 million sum to promote environmental protection, according to a government press release.

The violation relates to CN importing a fuel that did not meet federal Renewable Fuels Regulations, government officials said in a press release. An investigation by Environment and Climate Change Canada found that between July 1, 2011, and Dec. 31, 2012, CN imported more than 224 million liters of diesel fuel.

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CN announced yesterday it has met all grain orders in western Canada for the third consecutive week and is now seeking additional export orders from grain companies.

"The decisive action we took in March to deploy more crews and locomotives has led to dramatic improvements in the movement of western Canadian grain," said Doug MacDonald, vice president of bulk at CN, said in a press release.

CN announced today it will buy 350 centerbeam cars to meet a growing demand from lumber-producing customers across the Class I's network.

The new, 73-foot riserless centerbeams will have a maximum load capacity of 286,000 pounds and are expected to be delivered starting in September, CN officials said in a press release.

Harsher-than-normal winter weather in the first quarter, including extremely low temperatures in Canada in February, put the deep freeze on CN’s financial results.

Q1 revenue was flat at $3.2 billion while operating income fell 16 percent to $1 billion, net income tumbled 16 percent to $741 million and operating expenses ballooned 9 percent to $2.2 billion compared with first-quarter 2017 results (all figures are in Canadian dollars).

CN will acquire 350 boxcars to serve an increase in demand from industrial customers across the Class I's North American network.

Equipped with 12-foot plug doors, the leased, 50-foot, high-capacity plate F boxcars are expected to be delivered beginning in late summer with all the cars in service by the end of the year, CN officials said in a press release.

CN President and Chief Executive Officer JJ Ruest has informed the Surface Transportation Board (STB) of the railroad's plan to speed up its service in response to recent shipper complaints.

Earlier this month, the STB asked all Class Is operating in the United States to submit their service plans in response to shippers' complaints about a deterioration in rail service. Ruest, who earlier this month was named interim president and CEO after the sudden resignation of Luc Jobin, is the first Class I executive to respond to the STB.

CN is searching for a new chief executive officer today after announcing the abrupt departure of Luc Jobin.

The Class I announced this morning that Jobin has left the company and is being replaced on an interim basis by Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Jean-Jacques Ruest until a permanent leader is named.

CN has been recognized as a global leader on environmental issues by CDP, the nonprofit organization that runs the global disclosure system to help investors, businesses, states and cities manage their environmental impacts.

CDP named CN to the Supplier A List of 100 companies that meet disclosure criteria for their actions to address climate change.

CN reported fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted net income decreased 6 percent to CA$897 million and adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) fell by 2 percent to CA$1.20.

The results exclude the impact of changes in the U.S. corporate tax rate under the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Including the tax benefit, CN reported Q4 2017 net income soared 156 percent to CA$2.6 billion and diluted EPS jumped 164 percent to CA$3.48 compared with Q4 2016's results, CN officials said in a press release.

CN today announced it chose Toyo Engineering Canada Ltd. to design and carry out a pilot project associated with producing CanaPux™ pellets.

The project is a key step toward demonstrating the commercial viability of moving bitumen in solid form by rail, CN officials said in a press release. The Class I worked with InnoTech Alberta to develop CanaPux, solid and dry pellets that are designed to float in water. The pellets won’t leak or dissolve, so there’s minimal risk of environmental contamination to oceans, lakes and rivers, CN officials said.

A joint interline service initiative established between CN and Norfolk Southern Railway in August is reducing transit times by a day or two for carload traffic between Western Canada and NS destinations in the Eastern United States, the Class Is announced late last week.

The service enables freight to bypass traditional interchange points in Chicago in favor of using the "most efficient" existing CN and NS routes. The service has cut transit times by up to 48 hours, according to a press release issued by the railroads.