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Yesterday, CN announced it reached a multi-year pact with Superior Silica Sands to move frac sand from a new processing plant under construction in northern Wisconsin.

Superior Silica Sands is building an 85-acre sand processing plant and rail storage facility near Poskin that’s designed to produce up to 2.4 million tons of frac sand products annually. Production is slated to start in November.

In spring, CN launched a $35 million project that calls for restoring nearly 40 miles of track between Ladysmith and Barron, Wis. Work includes rail upgrades, tie replacements, culvert and bridge repairs, and service restoration along the line, which will be used to transport Superior Silica’s frac sand.

CN will move the sand from the plant to shale drilling areas across North America, including western Canada.

“Over the last three years, CN's frac sand market has grown nearly 70 percent, reaching 35,000 carloads and $100 million in revenue in 2011,” said Jean-Jacques Ruest, CN’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer, in a prepared statement. “We hope that our end-to-end service focus will help us grow this market to become a $300 million business … in the next three-to-five year horizon.”