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Yesterday, CN announced plans to spend about $37 million to double-track key segments of its high-volume mainline east of Edmonton, Alberta, add capacity to a line in northern Alberta’s oil sands region and boost velocity at a freight-car classification yard in Edmonton.

The Class I expects to allocate:
• $12 million to construct 3.5 miles of track between two sidings near Edmonton and create 7.9 miles of double track in total to help dispatchers expedite train meets and increase velocity on a high-density corridor;
• $12 million to build 11,400 feet of track east of Clover Bar yard near Edmonton to facilitate switching and help expedite train arrivals and departures in the terminal;
• $10 million to improve a secondary line in northern Alberta to accommodate additional traffic to and from Fort McMurray, including carloads from the Athabasca, Peace River and Cold Lake oil sands regions; and
• $3 million to reconfigure tracks at Walker Yard in Edmonton to increase velocity.

Because CN is experiencing continued growth in western Canadian traffic volumes, the Class I is “making strategic rail investments in Alberta to increase network capacity and improve train velocity along our transcontinental mainline between Edmonton and Winnipeg,” said Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Keith Creel in a prepared statement.

The projects also will position CN to handle more volume on a line to Fort McMurray, the “gateway to Alberta's oil sands production region,” he said.