A new construction project will lay extra railroad tracks across the Prince George region.
CN Rail is adding passing lanes for trains along their tracks between Prince Rupert and Edmonton. Five sections will be twinned in 2012, as part of a $155 million upgrade campaign all to handle the freight flowing in and out of the Port of Prince Rupert.
"In 2011, more than half a million carloads/intermodal units moved over CN's BC North corridor. By 2015, CN traffic on this line could nearly double," said Keith Creel, CN's executive vice-president and chief operating officer.
"CN's sizable investments in rail infrastructure in northern B.C. and western Alberta are helping us accommodate growing import-export traffic moving between the Port of Prince Rupert, the BC interior and major centres across CN's network in Canada and the United States," he said. "The investments will also help us better move rising export coal volumes from existing and new mines in the region to Ridley Terminals at Prince Rupert, whose handling capacity is expected to double by the end of 2014 to 24 million tonnes."
Since 2004, the company has added 21 sidings on this corridor, plus renovated tunnels and bridges to fit the new shipping containers, expanded train yards in Smithers and Terrace, established an inland container port in Prince George, and upgraded technology for the trains - some of which are now 12,000 feet long. The new technology provides faster, smoother train starts, improved braking and better safety, while lowering fuel consumption and reducing environmental emissions.
