Railroad News

Rail News Home Canadian National Railway - CN 6/28/2022 Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN
CN announced yesterday it has budgeted hundreds of millions of dollars for capital projects in the states of Illinois and Tennessee, and the provinces of New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.The Class I will invest CA$185 million in Saskatchewan, $150 million in Illinois, CA$40 million in New Brunswick and $30 million in Tennessee.The funds will pay for projects to advance technology, capacity, rolling stock and decarbonization initiatives, as well as network improvements. The projects will power sustainable growth and ensure the safe movement of goods in their respective areas, CN officials said in a press release.The investments call for replacing rail, installing new ties, rebuilding grade-crossing surfaces and performing maintenance work on bridges, culverts, signal systems and other track infrastructure."We continue to make significant investments in our network, technology and capacity," said Sean Finn, CN's executive vice president of corporate services and chief legal officer.In recent weeks, CN has announced plans for similar projects in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Quebec.

Rail News Home Canadian National Railway - CN 6/23/2022 Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN
CN yesterday and today announced it will spend CA$970 million this year on capital expenditure projects for its rail network in the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Ontario.The funds will go toward technology, capacity, rolling stock and company-wide decarbonization efforts, as well as network improvements across all four provinces, CN officials said in a press release. The investments will power sustainable growth and ensure the continued safe movement of goods across Canada, they said.CN plans to spend CA$430 million in Ontario, CA$365 million in Alberta, CA$160 million in Manitoba and CA$15 million in Nova Scotia. The investments also include a maintenance program for each province.Combined, the work calls for replacing 102 miles of track, installing 291,000 ties, rebuilding 162 grade-crossing surfaces and completing maintenance work on various track infrastructure.Earlier this week, CN announced plans to invest CA$390 million in British Columbia and CA$335 million in Quebec."We continue to make significant investments in our network, technology and capacity," said Sean Finn, CN executive vice president of corporate services and chief legal officer.

Rail News Home Canadian National Railway - CN 6/20/2022 Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN
The investments are being made in technology, rolling stock units, capacity and company-wide decarbonization initiatives, as well as network improvements. Photo – cn.ca

Rail News Home Canadian National Railway - CN 6/6/2022 Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN
After a phased rollout, a total of 37 desks in CN's control center will be utilizing the precision dispatch software. Photo – Wabtec Corp.

Rail News Home Canadian National Railway - CN 5/23/2022 Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN
Shauneen Bruder Photo – LinkedIn

Rail News Home Canadian National Railway - CN 4/7/2022 Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN
CN and the Montreal Port Authority have agreed to integrate rail transport at the port's new container terminal in Contrecœur, the parties announced yesterday.A private partner will be retained to develop and operate the terminal. CN and port officials will define the technical aspects of the project's intermodal service, they said in a joint press release.The agreement is designed to strengthen the new terminal's position with shippers and give companies greater access to markets in Ontario and the U.S. Midwest, they said.The CN rail line is already in place in the area covered by the port's expansion in Contrecœur. In addition to establishing the intermodal service, the partnership aims to ensure close cooperation between CN, the port authority and the future private partner, port officials said."Teaming up with the Montreal Port Authority and future partners allows us to design an efficient rail-served terminal to provide customers with a high quality, consistent and safe intermodal service on our network," said CN President and CEO Tracy Robinson. "This will help support our long-term, sustainable growth."

Rail News Home Canadian National Railway - CN 4/6/2022 Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN
CN yesterday announced it presented its annual Safe Handling Awards to 241 shippers for their performance in 2021.Launched in 1992, the award is presented to customers who load freight cars with dangerous goods and meet strict standards for the safe handling and shipment of regulated products.The winners must meet established criteria, according to the total number of shipments of dangerous goods for all facilities, CN officials said in a press release."This award reflects the commitment of our customers to ensuring we run a safe operation. Safety is a core value at CN and one we share with our customers as we must all be engaged and responsible for creating a safe environment for employees and communities," said Buck Rogers, vice-president of petroleum and chemicals, rail centric supply chain at CN.The award is part of the Responsible Care® Program, an ongoing performance improvement initiative in which CN is a partner in Canada and the United States.Click here to view the list of award winners for safe performance in 2021.

Rail News Home Canadian National Railway - CN 3/16/2022 Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN
CN today announced it will make a combined donation of CA$1.1 million to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation and to Razom in the United States in support of Ukrainians displaced by the war in Ukraine.CN will also be matching donations made through the CN Employees' and Pensioners' Community Fund, company officials said in a press release.The donations will help the foundation and Razom to continue providing humanitarian assistance and relief to displaced persons by offering medical care, emergency shelter and food, said CN President and CEO Tracy Robinson."Our company’s history is tied to the settlement of western Canada by Ukrainians and we are proud to have CN employees, retirees and stakeholders in both Canada and the US who are of Ukrainian descent," she added.The Canada-Ukraine Foundation was formed in 1995 to coordinate, develop, organize, and deliver assistance projects generated by Canadians and directed to Ukraine.Razom is a U.S.-based nonprofit that aims to improve Ukraine. In response to the war, Razom volunteers created the Razom Emergency Response, which is focused on purchasing medical supplies, hospital supplies and tech-enabled emergency response supplies that facilitate the delivery of aid.

Rail News Home Canadian National Railway - CN 3/2/2022 Rail News: Canadian National Railway - CN
CN has asked the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to condition any approval of the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger on the divestiture of the KCS line from Kansas City, Missouri, to Springfield and East St. Louis, Illinois, to CN.CN made the request based on the STB’s statutory authority to order “the divestiture of parallel tracks" as a merger condition, company officials said in a press release. Granting CN control of what it calls the "Kansas City Speedway" line would provide rail customers with a new competitive option to move goods across a key North American economic corridor, they proposed.CN would invest in the Kansas City Speedway, which would "benefit customers and communities, create union and management jobs, and produce substantial environmental benefits by taking 80,000 trucks off the road annually," company officials said."Under the right ownership, we believe there is a clear opportunity to bring widespread economic benefits for customers and communities across the American Midwest and Canada," said CN Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Rob Reilly. "CN has a comprehensive plan for the Kansas City Speedway that will increase competition, create jobs, reduce roadway congestion, and positively impact the environment."CN’s creation of the Kansas City Speedway would ensure that automotive and intermodal customers in particular would have "greater competitive shipping options between Eastern Canada, Detroit, Chicago and Kansas City," CN officials said.Over 70 letters of support for the proposal have been filed with the STB, they added.