Railroad News

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.

CN yesterday reported that it achieved record earnings, revenue and operating income for the second quarter.

Second-quarter revenue rose 9 percent to CA$3.96 billion over the year-ago period mainly due to the inclusion of The TransX Group in the intermodal commodity group, the impact of a weaker Canadian dollar, freight rate increases and higher petroleum crude and grain volumes, company officials said in a press release.

CN will rebuild the rail bridge over the Steen River in Alberta, with Imperial Oil and Suncor contributing funds to the reconstruction, the Class I announced yesterday.

The approaches on both ends of the 360-foot bridge will be rebuilt with concrete and steel and the bridge deck of the steel span across the river will be replaced. Construction should be completed by mid-August, CN officials said in a press release.

CN today announced its western Canadian grain movements in June exceeded 2.3 million metric tons (MMT) compared with 1.99 MMT in June 2018.

The cumulative tonnage moved by the railroad through 11 months of the 2018-19 crop year was on record pace at 25.5 MMT — 1 million tons ahead of the previous record-setting pace — despite the restrictions on Canadian exports to China, CN officials said in a press release. The three-year average of grain movements per month is 1.80 MMT.

CN officially marked its 100th anniversary last week.

Founded by an act of Parliament in Canada on June 6, 1919, CN evolved from a federal crown corporation for 75 years to a private railroad company in 1995. The Class I spans North America, from eastern to western Canada and the Gulf of Mexico.

The Quebec Port Authority (QPA) yesterday announced the signing of a long-term commercial agreement with Hutchison Ports and CN to build and operate a new container terminal known as project Laurentia.

The CA$775 million project will be financed through the joint investment of all three partners. In addition, the QPA is in discussions with federal and provincial governments to complete the financing, according to a QPA press release.

CN today announced Rob Reilly will become executive vice president and chief operating officer and Michael Foster will be promoted to EVP and chief information and technology officer as of July 1.

Reilly has 30 years of experience in the rail industry, starting in 1989 when he joined the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Co., now known as BNSF Railway Co. His industry experience includes a succession of increasingly senior positions in markets across the United States, most notably in Chicago and on the West Coast.

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Editor

Happiest of birthdays to CN, which will turn 100 next month, as managing editor Jeff Stagl reports in this month’s cover story. While the Class I’s leaders are reflecting on a century’s worth of progress, they’re also focused on the road ahead, as my colleague reports. They say they’re committed to delivering on the better-service promise and driving top-line growth.

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Managing Editor

CN announced last week that union members have ratified three of four tentative agreements reached between CN and Unifor Council 4000 negotiators in March.

The three ratified agreements, reached prior to their expiration, cover 2,000 CN railroaders in Canada, including all clerks and intermodal workers, excavator-operators, as well as conductors and locomotive engineers working on the SAR internal short line in northern Alberta, Canada, according to a CN press release.

CN is expanding its operations in western Canada with two additional major export supply chain projects, the Class I announced yesterday.

Both projects are focused on maximizing the use of rail into the Port of Prince Rupert in British Columbia. The first train of thermal coal from Coalspur Mines Ltd.'s Vista Mine in Hinton, Alberta, has shipped to Ridley Terminals. CN is also delivering the first unit train of propane from Alberta for export via the new AltaGas Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal, according to a CN press release.

CN yesterday announced Robert Pace was unanimously re-elected by its board as chairman.

He is president and chief executive officer of The Pace Group Ltd., a Halifax-based company that's engaged in radio broadcasting, real estate and environmental services. Pace, who became CN's chair in 2014, also is chairman of the Walter Gordon Foundation, and a board member for the Atlantic Salmon Federation and Asia Pacific Corp.

By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Managing Editor

Despite extreme and prolonged cold temperatures that prompted shorter trains in portions of the first quarter, CN registered solid financial results with strong top-line growth in the period, the Class I reported yesterday.

CN is now offering a mobile app for trucking companies that use certain CN intermodal terminals in Canada.

Known as ModalPass, the mobile app is aimed at making navigating CN intermodal terminals faster for trucking partners, according to the Class I’s website.