KINGSTON, Ontario — Six cars of a Canadian National train carrying hazardous materials derailed Friday in Kingston, Ontario, leading to a small chemical leak and collapsing a portion of a bridge, the CBC reports. No members of the train’s three-person crew were injured. Two tanks cars of the 12-car train ended up in Little Cataraqui […]
Railroad: Canadian National
Canadian National details carload and intermodal growth plans
CHICAGO — Canadian National, which led the big Class I railroads in volume growth over the past decade, expects to keep it up over the next three years. CN believes it will add as many as 900,000 annual new carloads and intermodal containers to its system by 2026, which translates into 5% volume growth per […]
At CN, holding for tonnage is out; running to schedule is in
CHICAGO — Canadian National executives on Wednesday dissected the long-train strategy that the railway has cast aside in favor of an operating plan where sticking to schedule is gospel. “The plan is sacred” was a phrase CN officials used multiple times during the railway’s investor day presentations. “You have this phrase around here … ‘the […]
CN: Operational improvements will enable significant volume growth
A westbound Canadian National train crosses the Thompson River on the CN main at Lytton, British Columbia, in May 2015. CN will continue to add capacity west of Edmonton, Alberta, to support traffic growth. Alex Mayes CHICAGO — During an investor day presentation today, Canadian National touted its operational improvements over the past year […]
Chicago-St. Louis trains begin 110-mph running
CHICAGO — Starting today, Amtrak’s Lincoln Service trains will begin operating at 110-mph maximum speeds over Union Pacific’s former Gulf, Mobile & Ohio speedway between Laraway Road, south of Joliet, Ill., and the Alton, Ill., Amtrak station. Shortened schedules will be established at a later time “to ensure everything on the system is running properly […]
CN, UP, and Ferromex tighten new Canada-Mexico intermodal schedules (updated)
MONTREAL — Canadian National, Union Pacific, and Ferromex have significantly tightened the schedules for the new intermodal service they will launch on May 15 to link Canada and Detroit with Mexico. The changes to the Falcon Premium service, announced in customer advisories on Monday, take 40 hours out of the Detroit-Monterrey transit time and trim […]
Unifor ratifies contract with Canadian National
MONTREAL — Members of the Canadian union Unifor have ratified a two-year contract with Canadian National Railway, the union announced Friday. The union and railway had announced an agreement March 20. The deal covers more than 3,000 mechanical, intermodal, facility management, and clerical positions represented by Unifor’s Local 100 and Council 4000 [see “Canadian National, […]
New CPKC Chicago-Mexico intermodal service to debut May 11
CALGARY, Alberta — CPKC’s first new service — a pair of intermodal trains linking Chicago and Mexico — will launch on May 11, carrying containers from new customers Schneider and Knight-Swift. Daily hotshots 180 and 181 will link Chicago with Laredo, Texas; Monterrey, Mexico; and Mexico City. With third-day service to Laredo, fourth-day to Monterrey, […]
CN CEO Tracy Robinson urges data-driven approach to safety regulations
MONTREAL — Canadian National CEO Tracy Robinson was singing from the same hymnal as other railroad leaders when she discussed safety during CN’s earnings call on Monday. All of the CEOs have stressed the importance of safety during their earnings calls this month in the wake of the disastrous Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk […]
CPKC adds second major intermodal customer for new Chicago-Mexico service
CALGARY, Alberta — Knight-Swift will shift its U.S.-Mexico intermodal traffic from Union Pacific to CPKC’s new single-line route beginning in May. CPKC and Knight-Swift announced their multi-year agreement today, just four days after Schneider said it would move its U.S.-Mexico intermodal business from UP to CPKC in May under a similar agreement. “This agreement creates […]
CN raises earnings outlook despite weakening economy
MONTREAL — Strength in bulk traffic and fluid operations propelled Canadian National to first-quarter records for operating income, revenue, and earnings per share. The strong quarter prompted CN to raise its financial outlook for the year to mid single-digit earnings per share growth, up from its previous guidance of low single-digit growth. “It’s important to […]
CN joins UP and Ferromex for new cross-border intermodal service
MONTREAL — Canadian National, Union Pacific, and Ferromex will launch new intermodal service next month linking Canada and Detroit with Mexico, the railroads announced today (Monday, April 24). The Falcon Premium service will connect a dozen CN terminals with the Ferromex terminals in Monterrey and Silao via the Eagle Pass, Texas, gateway. CN and UP […]