20 July 2005
CPR Completes Another Western Capacity Expansion Project
Canadian Pacific Railway has completed another project under a
$160-million expansion program, on its western corridor between the Prairies and the Port
of Vancouver. A total of 25 projects were announced. The expansion, which is part of CPR's commitment
to addressing unprecedented domestic and foreign consumer demand involves building and extending
sidings, laying sections of double track, improving signal systems and installing staging tracks and
track-to-track crossovers.
The latest project to wrap up is the Aikins/Swift Current upgrade, which improves railway efficiencies
in the area. The project consisted of extending the mainline double track at Aikins, just east of
Swift Current, by just over 5,200 feet, which increases potential train-length capacity
to up to 11,000 feet, providing sufficient distance between the double track and the Highway 4
crossing for a long train to stop in the clear of the road crossing. The project also involved
measures to reduce blocked crossings in Swift Current by constructing new crossovers, which allow
trains to move from one track to another, and upgrading the signal system at affected crossings.
Along with other materials required to complete the project, the track work required more than 3,700
railway ties, more than 12,100 feet of steel rail - weighing 276 tons - and about 7,800 tons of rock
ballast.
CPR is expanding its capacity to move more bulk commodities and resources to the Port of Vancouver to
meet the demand of Asian markets. 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
completed, CPR will be able to run an additional four trains daily between the Prairies and the Port
of Vancouver, a 12 percent increase in capacity.
CPR's $160-million expansion program this year is in addition to planned capital
investment of approximately $760 million. As well, CPR has taken other steps to support Canada's
economy, including hiring hundreds of new train crew employees, adding more modern locomotives and
rail cars and undertaking an aggressive track maintenance program across its system.
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