Detroit Tunnel
Traffic Up 30 Percent
Paul
Thurston
Train load of double-stacks
exit the north portal of the Detroit Tunnel.
Toronto - Traffic through the Detroit-Windsor gateway has
increased about 30 percent since CP Rail System completed tunnel expansion last April.
With the enlargement of the Detroit River tunnel, the railway now can move multi-level cars and most
double-stack loads, eliminating the 12-hour barge crossings that previously were required.
The tunnel has led to increased north-south business for the railway, including more than 30,000 trips
of multi-level motor vehicle carriers bearing newly assembled cars and trucks.
Not a Single Unit Lost
Uninterrupted service through the enlarged tunnel during a recent labour disruption that closed most of Canada's
rail network and reduced CPRS service by 20 percent, played a significant role in the automotive industry's ability
to keep its products moving.
"General Motors did not lose a single unit for lack of parts during this period", Maureen Kempston Darkes,
president and general manager of General Motors of Canada Ltd., wrote in a recent letter to CPRS.
It was a "remarkable accomplishment", she said.
Movements of containers plying the sea-and-land route between Europe and Chicago via Montreal
represented the equivalent of more then 250,000 standard 20-foot units (TEU's), a majority moving on
double-stack cars.
The tunnel expansion has been well received locally as well.
Windsor and Detroit city officials said the tunnel improvement is helping them maintain their positions as leading
gateways for automotive and container traffic.
"CP Rail's confidence in the Detroit Windsor marketplace, as evidenced by its investment in the tunnel
enlargement, has obviously helped both the railway, through its increased market share, and the City of Detroit,
keeping it a key player in the highly competitive international market", Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer said.
His cross-border counterpart agreed.
"The increase in CP Rail traffic is welcome affirmation that Windsor retains its position as the premier
Canadian gateway city in the world's largest bilateral trade relationship", Windsor Mayor Mike Hurst said.
Under the expansion project completed in April 1994, CPRS enlarged one tube of the twin-tube tunnel;
lowered and rebuilt both tracks on the approach grades; upgraded tunnel services; and improved lighting.
Car and car parts loads exceeding the original tunnel clearances previously were ferried across the Detroit River,
while truck trailers were unloaded from flatcars and driven from one country to the other. Container traffic was
restricted to single-stack cars.
As a result of the enlargement, the tunnel now can accommodate enclosed multi-level motor vehicle
carriers, piggyback cars, and container equipment capable of handling double-stacked
sea-and-land containers.
In 1985, CPRS acquired the tunnel in partnership with CN. CSX, Norfolk Southern, and other railways operate through
the tunnel under running rights agreements.
This CP Rail News article is copyright
1995 by the Canadian Pacific Railway and is reprinted here with
their permission. All photographs, logos, and trademarks are the property of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Company.
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