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Last week, Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Railway agreed to form a jointly owned Deltaport Division to manage rail switching operations for the Class Is' intermodal trains at Deltaport, a Roberts Bank, British Columbia, container terminal.

The division will streamline the terminal's logistics chain, and improve efficiencies for both the railroads and port operation located south of Vancouver's inner harbor, CN and CPR said.

"These service and productivity gains support Canada's AsiaPacific Gateway Initiative, which aims to bolster the competitiveness of the nation's West Coast ports," said CN Executive Vice President of Operations Keith Creel in a prepared statement

CN and CPR move about 70,000 20-foot equivalent unit containers into and out of Deltaport monthly. Container cars must be switched into the terminal tracks for loading and unloading.

"We expect Deltaport Division will enhance the fluidity and capacity of both railways calling at Deltaport and deliver better service to our port and terminal partners within the Pacific Gateway," said CPR EVP and Chief Operating Officer Kathryn McQuade.

The Deltaport switching pact represents "another positive development" in the Class Is' efforts to forge operating agreements, CN and CPR said. The railroads have a directional running-zone agreement in place in the Fraser Canyon and co-production operating agreements in effect in the greater Vancouver area.