CN identifies locomotive shop investment

CN Wednesday said it plans a C$12 million expansion of its Locomotive Reliability Centre (LRC), located in Prince George, British Columbia.

CN Executive Vice-President and COO Keith Creel said, “The Prince George LRC is strategically located midway between Edmonton, Alberta, and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, which are roughly 1,000 miles apart.

“The facility serviced locomotives for more than 9,000 CN trains that transited the city last year. We are at maximum capacity at the LRC, with three shifts per day, seven days a week, and we need to expand it to handle existing and forecast growth of intermodal, coal and other traffic in northern British Columbia,” Creel said.

CN said it will increase floor space at the Prince George locomotive shop by 50% to nearly 50,000 square feet, permitting the addition of four repair bays with pits to handle the forecast increase in locomotive inspections and repairs.

Also, CN will spend more than C$4 million this year to extend two key sidings north of Prince George on the line toward Chetwynd, B.C., to efficiently and safely accommodate 10,000-foot coal trains serving mines in northeastern region of the province.

CN said it has invested heavily in the Prince George area to handle increased freight volumes. Including the LRC project and siding extensions this year, CN will have spent more than C$60 million since 2004 on capital projects in the city.

By year’s end, CN will have invested more than C$150 million since 2004 in longer sidings along the Edmonton-Prince Rupert corridor.

Said Creel, “CN is a major economic player in the markets it serves, and we are investing proactively in our infrastructure to ensure the supply chains we are part of and the customers we serve have safe, efficient rail capacity to grow and compete effectively at home and abroad.”