Work on CN’s local shortline near High Prairie continued this past week with engineering crews working on rail replacement. The improvements are part of a $15.6 million dollar investment project. CN’s capital spending plan in its Western Region targets replacement of rail, ties and other track materials in addition to bridge enhancements.

Canada’s largest railway company – CN – is allocating $15.6 million towards improvements on its existing line from Smith, through McLennan, and up to Hay River, NWT. “We are committed to providing good quality rail service in northern Alberta,” says Jim Vena, vice-president of CN’s Western Region. News of the railway infrastructure improvement project was announced July 22 at the CN Operations Centre in McLennan by Kevin Franchuk, regional manager for CN. Franchuk spent the morning outlining the rehabilitation plan to several municipal officials from the region prior to giving local media the same opportunity in the afternoon. Since purchasing the former Mackenzie Northern shortline – spanning a total of 602 miles – in 2006 the company has invested an estimated $38 million to improve transit times and service consistency. “This year’s workload includes replacement of 20 track miles of rail, the installation of 95,000 wooden ties, roadbed improvements with the addition of more than 45,000 cubic yards of crushed rock, as well as upgrades to crossings, signal equipment, bridges and other infrastructure,” Franchuk explains. Overall, CN is investing $1.5 billion in capital programs in 2008, $1.1 billion of which is earmarked for track infrastructure. Approximately $430 million of that total CN is being used to maintain and improve its existing infrastructure network across Western Canada. The company is also allocating $140 million in 2008 to purchase new fuel efficient locomotives and carry out improvements to the existing fleet. CN also expects to spend another $250 million on facilities to grow the business, including transloads and distribution centers as well as information technology. Vena says CN is making significant improvements to the local shortline and other regional lines in an effort to address safety and meet the increasing oilsands opportunities in the north. “Our capital program is a signal that CN is keeping pace to improve transportation for shippers and aid regional economic development,” he emphasizes. CN’s capital spending plan in its Western Region targets replacement of rail, ties and other track materials in addition to bridge enhancements. The company is also investing in extended sidings and terminal improvements to further grow the business while promoting efficient movement of traffic in Western Canada, including CN’s line to the new Port of Prince Rupert container terminal. “Our investments in rail infrastructure will ensure plant quality and safety, build capacity and speed, and improve the overall productivity of our operations,” Vena adds. Day-to-day rail inspection and maintenance programs, meanwhile, are benefiting from the rollout of the first phase of CN’s Precision Engineering program. Franchuk says the mobile computer system at the heart of this initiative helps CN manage engineering processes more efficiently by reducing engineering related delays to trains while improving labour efficiency as a result of better information availability.