CN schedules rail projects in Illinois, Louisiana, Tennessee and Wisconsin

CN announced yesterday it has budgeted $505 million for capital projects this year in Illinois, Louisiana, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

In Illinois, CN will spend $190 million to expand and maintain its infrastructure in state. Planned expansion projects will include development of a positive train control (PTC) system and adding capacity to the Joliet Intermodal Terminal.

Additionally, CN plans to replace more than 11 miles of rail, install 88,000 new ties, rebuild 53 road crossing surfaces and perform maintenance on bridges, culverts, signal systems and other track infrastructure.

CN has invested more than $1.3 billion in Illinois over the past five years.

“Following a record capital program in 2018, CN has been able to take on more traffic from different commodity sectors based on contracts with our customers,” said Derek Taylor, vice president of CN’s Southern Region, in a press release. “This year, we are continuing to invest to boost capacity and network resiliency and to meet growing traffic on our corridors across Illinois.”

Meanwhile, CN has slated $95 million for expansion and maintenance programs in Louisiana this year. Planned expansion projects include development of a PTC system, as well as a multiyear project to rebuild a 2-mile-long bridge over the spillway near Lake Pontchartrain's southwest shore.

Louisiana maintenance projects include replacing 15 miles of rail, installing 55,000 new ties, rebuilding 18 road crossing surfaces, and work on bridges, culverts and signals. Over the past five years, CN has spent $240 million to strengthen its infrastructure in Louisiana.

In Tennessee, CN plans to spend $100 million this year on infrastructure. Projects in that state call for replacing 15 miles of rail, installing 95,000 ties, rebuilding 17 road crossing surfaces and performing maintenance on bridges, culverts signals and other track.

The Class I has invested $175 million on its Tennessee network over the past five years.

And in Wisconsin, CN has budgeted $120 million in capital expenditures this year. Expansion projects will include developing a PTC system and construction of 8 miles of double track near Hawthorne.

Maintenance highlights will include replacing more than 35 miles of rail; installing  90,000 new ties; rebuilding of 80 road crossing surfaces; and performing work on bridges, culverts, signals and other track.

“In 2018, CN passed the threshold of US$1 billion of private investment in our state’s rail network. Their continued financial commitment through 2019 is a necessity to facilitate the safe and efficient handling of freight moving in and through the state,” said Craig Thompson, secretary-designee of Wisconsin Department of Transportation, in a press release.

The 2019 capital expenditures in all four states is part of the Class I's record $2.9 billion investment in rail infrastructure projects that are designed to enable growth from all commodity segments, CN officials said.