Canada awards C$33 million to support rail, port projects

The Canadian government yesterday announced it will award a total of C$33.1 million to six rail and port projects in Alberta and British Columbia under the National Trade Corridors Fund.

The projects are designed to support economic resilience and drive sustainable growth over the long term. The investments are strategic to ensure that Canada's logistics capabilities can meet future demands while fostering a robust and competitive economy, according to a Transport Canada press release.

The award recipients and the projects are:
• C$10 million to CN for the Jaleslie siding extension project to enhance the reliability and fluidity of freight trains and passenger-rail services to and from the Port of Vancouver. The funding provides an additional option for long trains to pass in the single-track corridor between Kamloops and the port;
• C$6.2 million to NSD Development Corp. for the NSD Inland Port project to develop a multicommodity inland port facility in Terrace, British Columbia, for shipping goods to and from northwestern British Columbia. The project includes constructing rail and road access and transloading areas for both liquid and dry bulk commodities, improving transportation fluidity and intermodal connectivity;
• C$5.7 million to Battle River Railway NGC Inc. for the Battle River Railway project to upgrade three bridges to Class I standards, develop the Forestburg Industrial Park and construct 15,000 feet of rail to serve the park in Forestburg, Alberta. These improvements will maximize railway line efficiency, reduce bottlenecks and boost first-mile fluidity;
 • C$5 million to Richardson International Ltd. for the North Shore Rail Yard expansion project to add 15 storage tracks at the North Vancouver Terminal, realign existing tracks and introduce crossovers and turnouts, as well as new lighting, fencing and utilities. These upgrades are enhancing transportation efficiency, strengthening intermodal connectivity and supporting regional trade;
• C$3.5 million to Quasar Platform Inc. for a project to create a digital platform that monitors rail cars and freight in real-time to provide companies with better visibility into their shipments, leading to greater efficiency and a more fluid movement of goods. It includes installing 10,000 GPS location sensors and integrating data to develop a rail network performance dataset; and
• C$2.7 million to IntermodeX Logistics Ltd. for the Ridley North off-dock and transloading expansion project to build a container yard and establish a transloading facility at the Port of Prince Rupert.