Canadian National Railway said Thursday it is buying 161 locomotives to accommodate increased traffic on its network and boost efficiency - with an unspecified number to be deployed in B.C. and Alberta.
The Montreal-based railroad will receive 35 new locomotives from GE Transportation and 30 more from Electro-Motive Diesel in 2013 and 2014.
It will also purchase this year 42 second-hand and 11 leased GE locomotives as well as 43 second-hand Electro Motive Diesel locomotives. Those will be upgraded, CN said.
A purchase price was not disclosed.
The acquisitions will help CN handle expected volume growth over the next two to five years, said chief operating officer Keith Creel in a release, and added the purchases include alternating-current (AC) locomotives.
CN's current fleet of 1,900 locomotives employ direct-current (DC) traction technology, which Creel said has worked well because of the favourable grades on the company's network.
"We will harness the key advantage of AC traction - much higher adhesion or train-pulling ability at low speeds - in assigning the new AC units to heavy-haul coal service in northern British Columbia and Alberta, where steep grades and sharp rail curvature make heavy demands on our locomotives," Creel said.
CN spokesperson Mark Hallman did not provide a number but said the bulk will be assigned to the two westernmost provinces.
In February, CN said it will spend $1.75 billion on capital work this year with extended sidings along its Edmonton to Prince Rupert line to be among the projects.
In December, CN applied to the provincial government for a grant of Crown land to extend a siding just east of Vanderhoof to 3,658 metres (12,000 feet) from the current 2,070 metres (6,790 feet).
If all works out, construction will start in the spring and be completed by late summer.
- with files from Canadian Press
