Canadian rail network invests in 2,200 new freight cars
The Canadian railway network CN is making major investments in its rail freight sector, acquiring more than 2,200 new freight cars and 1,300 new containers in 2012.
It is hoped that the purchase will support traffic growth and improve customer service, extending the range of materials that CN can transport.
Jean-Jacques Russet, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for the company said: “CN is acquiring new freight cars and containers for a range of markets, including forest products, metals, minerals, coal, iron ore, steel, consumer goods, finished vehicles, and grain. These fleet additions will help us grow in line with our customers' demands and ensure CN has the right mix of modern, productive assets.”
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CN has made a number of large investments over the last year, purchasing 1,300 grocery containers, 558 high capacity covered hoppers for grain experts, 300 gondolas for coal and 232 new ore cars.
Ruest said: “CN's rolling stock acquisition strategy is responding to evolving market conditions and is intended to ensure reliable, predictable supply chains for our customers.”
The company’s is also investing in the Prince George area, where it has spent over C$150 million since 2004. A new C$12 million investment will mean that CN’s Locomotive Reliability Center, which repairs and maintains trains, will double it’s floor space. In addition to this, CN has spent C$4 million on two key sidings, which will accommodate 10,000 foot-coals trains serving the mining region.
Keith Creel, CN executive vice-president and chief operating officer, said: “The Prince George LRC is strategically located midway between Edmonton, Alta., and Prince Rupert, B.C., which are roughly 1,000 miles apart.
“The facility serviced locomotives for more than 9,000 CN trains that transited the city last year. We are at maximum capacity at the LRC, with three shifts per day, seven days a week, and we need to expand it to handle existing and forecast growth of intermodal, coal and other traffic in northern B.C.”
