A Canadian Pacific train with the Fort Saskatchewan refineries in the distance - 1 Jul 2008 Gregory Melle.

2 February 2012

CP Rail Considering Regional Terminal

Bruderheim Alberta - Canadian Pacific Railway is looking to build a rail terminal on a 275-acre site, about a mile west of Bruderheim.
 
Karen Tsang, a CP Rail marketing department manager, said the railway is looking to build the terminal to handle increased traffic at the company's other yards in the region.
 
"It's still in the conceptual phase. We're planning to do it because our other yards are reaching their capacity," she said. "We're looking around at this point to see whoever else might be interested in using a facility in this location."
 
CP Rail spokesman Ed Greenberg said while the company has no firm timetable or budget for the project at this point, its engineers are working with interested customers in designing the layout and equipment to create the facility.
 
Once that phase is complete, the railway would have a firmer grasp on costs and the facility's viability.
 
"CP envisions the future Strathcona Logistics Centre will be a multi commodity facility, handling structural steel, bulk products, and containers, and we're working with potential customers to develop a conceptual design, of what that facility might look like," he said.
 
The yard would be near the Stonefell oil terminal site and along Highway 830. The railway also operates a nearby cross-load terminal at Scotford.
 
"The site we are considering is a fit for us because it's near our existing rail line," he said.
 
With a number of other projects either underway or in the planning stages for the immediate area, Greenberg said, they offer interesting possibilities but aren't part of the design program as yet.
 
"We're looking at meeting the shipping needs of our current customers and developing new relationships with potential customers," he said.
 
"CP has taken an aggressive approach to meeting customer needs in the bulk shipping sector in order to provide superior service and productivity to our shippers.
 
"So, it would be speculative, at this point, to make that a consideration. We're more focused on the specific needs of our customers at this point."
 
Greenberg added though, the activity in the area as the head of the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline, and the expected expansion of oil sands insitu operations it might trigger, bodes well for the future should everything get the green light from their various owners.
 
"Looking forward, we can see the potential, but this is about servicing our customers," he said.
 
Rick Volman.