A pick up drag rolls through Lang, Saskatchewan, at milepost 55 of the Portal Subdivision lead by locomotives 5857, 3030, and 5017 - 26 Oct 1985 John Carr.

12 December 2011

Technology and Operations Enhancements a Win for CP's Canadian Grain Franchise

Calgary Alberta - Canadian Pacific has improved service for its Canadian grain customers this crop year by reducing scheduling variability and increasing access to rail car supply. Crop year-to-date, empty order fulfillment, a metric that highlights rail car availability, has increased by 19 percent or 11,000 units vs. a year ago.
 
In 2011, CP simplified how it serves its Canadian grain network by grouping over 165 prairie based elevators into eight separate operating hubs. Within these hubs, the railway commits locomotives and a dedicated scheduled day of week service to each elevator. This operating model has delivered a 26 percent improvement in on-time performance, allowing customers to better optimize their grain elevator operations through more effective delivery coordination and manpower planning.
 
"We have worked in conjunction with our grain customers to facilitate a strong network of modern grain elevators located on the Canadian Prairies that are capable of loading 112 car unit trains within a 24-hour period, adding significantly to the efficiency of the grain handling and transportation system," said Steve Whitney VP Agri-Business and Market Development. "Our results confirm that by eliminating the variability in grain service scheduling, we not only provide better communications and service to our customers but unlock capacity across the entire logistics chain."
 
Technology upgrades also added to CP's success story with the introduction of CP's Grain Car Request System (GCRS), a new and more efficient way for its customers to request cars and track their shipments. The web portal platform in support of this system allows customers to view their request status and service plans online and in real time. GCRS allows CP a level of planning flexibility that has proven key to the successful delivery of improved year-over-year performance.
 
"Based on these types of sustained improvements, CP is positioned to continue to deliver year-over-year improvements, such as playing a larger role in the all-rail eastern export program this winter," added Whitney.
 
Across Canada and the U.S., CP moves an average of over 45 million tons of grain annually from 395 origin elevators to 30 different port terminals. CP's Grain service reliability program, hub model, and new ordering systems, are now being evaluated for potential synergies with U.S franchise.