Cando Rail Services expanding into B.C.

Brandon, Manitoba-based Cando Rail Services is expanding into British Columbia with the recent purchase of an 89-acre site in Kamloops for a new terminal. The terminal will have the capacity for 1,000 railcar storage spots, in addition to providing transloading, material handling, engineering and track and mechanical services.

The site, the former Weyerhaeuser Co. sawmill site, is located at Mission Flats Road approximately 10 minutes from Kamloops’ city center. Cando selected it for its ready access to the CN and Canadian Pacific main lines, both of which run through Kamloops. “It is a prime location as the last major center before heading west into the busy Port of Vancouver, and also provides access to the growing Port of Prince Rupert,” the company said.

The new Kamloops terminal will serve as the company’s headquarters in B.C. “Our long range plan is to build an extensive rail terminal at the location that includes 80,000 feet of track and transload areas, as well as engineering and mechanical servicing areas,” said Cando Rail Services CEO Brian Cornick. “We’ll start with storage tracks first; we’re building to have the first 250 spots ready by this June. This is an important step for us as we expand into the B.C. market. We recognize Kamloops already has a sizable amount of rail traffic. It makes sense for us to build our regional hub here as we expand our services right across the country. The Kamloops land acquisition and development of this hub of Cando services opens up future business growth and development opportunities within Kamloops and the province. We’re excited to move to the community of Kamloops. The city and Venture Kamloops have been great to work with. We can’t wait to get started.”

Cando currently operates railcar storage at six other Canadian locations across Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. The company, employee-owned and established in 1978, provides industrial rail services at more than 18 sites across Canada and the U.S., managing several facilities and terminals and serving a wide variety of industrial clients ranging from Class I railroads to automotive, forestry and mining companies. Cando also has a large engineering and track services division with more than 15 mobile engineering and track services crews, and operates three short line railways. Cando serves many industries including railway, oil and gas, refineries, fuel distribution, automotive, agriculture, potash, forestry products and intermodal.