6 June 2005
CPR Completes First
Project in Western Capacity Expansion Program
Canadian Pacific Railway has
completed the first of 25 projects under a $160-million program to increase train
capacity on the railway's network between the Prairies and the Port of Vancouver. An
8,500-foot-long track has been built at CPR's Coquitlam yard near Vancouver for trains of
Canadian bulk commodities destined for ocean-going ships calling at Vancouver.
The new track enables CPR to stage trains close to the port until the designated ship arrives.
Previously, trains awaiting ship arrival would be staged in sidings, which are valuable passing lanes
built alongside the mainline. The new staging track will leave sidings open for moving trains, improve
locomotive utilization, enhance overall fluidity in this area and improve service to the Port of
Vancouver.
The staging track took five weeks to construct and required 285 tons of steel rail, 4,250 crossties
and 5,640 tons of rock ballast.
Almost all of the 25 capacity expansion projects are now under way.
CPR is expanding its capacity to move more bulk commodities and resources to the Port of Vancouver for
Asian markets that are hungry for Canada's raw materials. CPR is also moving increasing volumes of
finished goods, shipped in containers arriving from Asia, to consumers in the U.S. and Canada. When
the 25 projects are complete in the fourth quarter of 2005, CPR will be able to run an additional four
trains daily - or more than 400 freight cars a day - between the Prairies and the Port of Vancouver, a
12 percent increase in capacity.
The expansion involves building and extending sidings, laying sections of double track, improving
signal systems and installing staging tracks and track-to-track crossovers.
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