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3/20/2019
CN plans to spend more than CA$245 million in Saskatchewan this year to expand and bolster infrastructure. The allocation is part of its record CA$3.9 billion capital expenditure budget in 2019.
Planned expansion projects in Saskatchewan include the construction of about 10 miles of double track near Atwater; 10 miles of double track near Fenwood; 8 miles of double track near Biggar; and 7 miles of double track near Clavet. In terms of track maintenance scheduled in the province, CN plans to replace 66 miles of rail, install 260,000 ties, rebuild 21 grade crossing surface, and complete work on culverts, signal systems and other infrastructure.
The Class I's 1,937-mile network in Saskatchewan connects agricultural shippers across the Prairies to worldwide markets, and includes major terminals in Saskatoon, Regina and Melville, CN officials said in a press release. Over the past five years, the railroad has spent about CA$700 million on capital investments in the province, including CA$210 million in 2018.
"Following a record capital program in 2018, CN brought on 25 percent more qualified train conductors in Western Canada and added over 10 percent more active high-horsepower locomotives to its network. This year, [we're] investing $35 million more than last year to bring greater capacity to [our] mainline to benefit all commodities," said Doug Ryhorchuk, vice president of the Class I's Western Region.
The railroad also is deploying safety enhancing technologies across its network, such as autonomous track inspection systems, distributed air cars and automated inspection portals, CN officials said.