MONTREAL ,
Feb. 5, 2013
(CNW) -
CN announced today a 2013 plan to invest approximately C$1.9 billion to maintain and upgrade its railway network, grow the business efficiently, and continue to improve customer service.
Claude Mongeau , president and chief executive officer, said: "CN is committed to operating a safe and sustainable railway, making continued improvements in service and seizing traffic opportunities to grow at low incremental cost.
"Infrastructure investments, the acquisition of new locomotives and equipment and the enhancement of information technology systems will help support our agenda of operational and service excellence. They will also make our customers more competitive in domestic and global markets and position us to maximize further business opportunities in intermodal, energy and other resource and manufacturing markets in 2013 and beyond."
More than C$1 billion in 2013 will be spent on track infrastructure to continue operating a safe railway and to improve the productivity and fluidity of the network. This investment will include the replacement of rail, ties and other track materials, and bridge work, as well as capacity and productivity improvements, among others, to:
Continue CN's extended siding program in northern British Columbia, Alberta, and northern Ontario;
Double-track portions of its mainline in Saskatchewan and add new signals on CN's Alberta main line to expedite train movements;
Continue improvements at Kirk Yard in Gary, Ind., and the former Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway line, and increase yard capacity and add sidings in the Baton Rouge , La., region.
CN also expects to spend approximately C$700 million to grow with its customers across a range of markets as they expand their business, including investments in:
Transloading operations and distribution centres to transfer freight efficiently between rail and truck;
Construction of the recently-announced intermodal terminal in Joliet, Ill., and the completion of the Calgary Logistics Park project, and
Information technology to improve service and operating efficiency, and other projects to support the Company's strategic agenda.
In addition, CN will target approximately C$200 million in 2013 for the acquisition of locomotives, intermodal equipment and vehicles as well as locomotive and car refurbishments. CN expects to take delivery of 40 new and 37 second-hand high-horsepower locomotives over the next 24 months, after also acquiring 25 new and 123 second-hand high-horsepower locomotives in 2012.
In 2012, CN's capital investment program totalled more than C$1.8 billion.
