Edmonton terminal helps CN fulfill intermodal 'need for speed'

For Canadian National Railway Co., a new Edmonton, Alberta, terminal means an increase in capacity and a continuing decrease in transcontinental transit times.

CN Oct. 2 inaugurated the $25 million terminal, which targets the railroad's "transcontinental 'need for speed' intermodal trains that've made CN more truck-like than ever before," said Paul Tellier, CN president and chief executive officer, in a prepared statement.

The terminal — designed to operate seven days a week with an initial annual 150,000-unit capacity — includes three front-lift mobile cranes, seven tracks to accommodate up to 12,000-foot trains and two pad tracks to handle full-length trains without switching.

CN plans to rely on the facility to help the railroad continue overhauling its intermodal schedule and reduce transit times; CN to date has cut 24 hours off intermodal transit times between Toronto and Winnipeg, Manitoba; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Edmonton; Calgary, Alberta; and Vancouver, British Columbia.

"Our expedited transcontinetal services have been a major hit with shippers of time-sensitive products, as well as parcel and less-than-truckload carriers," said Tellier.