Mark Szakonyi, Associate Editor | Mar 13, 2012 3:54PM EDT
Canadian National Railway will expand its service to the growing Port of Prince Rupert by adding a container train connection to Edmonton in June.
The new connection, which will also bring added service to Calgary, comes as Alberta emerges as one of the fastest growing industrial and consumer based economies in North America. To support the growing region, CN will relocate its Calgary Intermodal Terminal to a larger 680-acre logistics park near the city’s airport.
“The [$202 million] new logistics park, along with new connectivity to both the Port of Prince Rupert and Vancouver, will provide Alberta fluid access to world markets for consumer goods and industrial materials, as well as two prime export routes for its forest products, plastics and agri-products,” said Jean-Jacques Ruest, the railroad’s vice president and chief marketing officer.
The new facility is expected to open in January. The Port of Prince Rupert’s container traffic in 2011 jumped 20 percent year-over-year, while CN, the only major railway to serve the port, saw intermodal traffic rise 8.9 percent in the same period.
-- Contact Mark Szakonyi at mszakonyi@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @Szakonyi_JOC
