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In the rail world, collaboration among competitors is becoming increasingly common as freight roads seek better ways to manage assets, boost capacity and improve service — particularly north of the U.S.-Canadian border.

On Nov. 16, Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Railway announced they reached agreement on three new network initiatives that will improve railway transit times and asset utilization in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. The initiatives include:

• A slot-sharing arrangement enabling CPR to move eight trains per week of bulk commodities over about 550 miles of CN line between Edmonton and CPR’s network at Coho, B.C., near Kamloops. Under the agreement, which has been tested for the past several months by the railways, trains are equipped with CPR locomotives and operated by CN crews. At Coho, CPR trains enter already-established directional running trackage that sees all westbound trains of both railways move through the Fraser Valley on CN’s line and all eastbound trains move on CPR’s line.

• Directional running over about 100 miles of parallel CPR and CN track in Ontario between Waterfall and Parry Sound. The two railways will operate eastbound trains over the CN line and westbound trains over CPR’s line in an effort to improve network fluidity.

• A haulage arrangement, with CN freight moving over about 300 miles of CPR track in Ontario between Thunder Bay and a junction with CN at Franz using CPR’s route north of Lake Superior – an arrangement that will enable the rationalization of about 200 miles of CN secondary track in Ontario between Thunder Bay and Longlac. CN says it will maintain transportation service to affected shippers.

"With these new arrangements, CN and CPR are unlocking efficient ways of improving service, increasing track capacity and maximizing utilization of railway infrastructure," said CN President and Chief Executive Officer E. Hunter Harrison in a prepared statement. "These agreements are clear wins for our respective customers and shareholders."

Added CPR President and CEO Robert Ritchie: "These initiatives are the product of an extensive review that showed opportunities in eastern and western Canada for quick improvements in the utilization of railway infrastructure. Along with our Port of Vancouver agreements to make rail operations more efficient for port freight traffic, these new initiatives again demonstrate that the highly competitive railway industry can work in a spirit of co-operation to respond to shipper needs."

On Nov. 8, CPR, CN and Norfolk Southern Railway announced they’d reached an agreement under which CN and NS will obtain a seamless, direct north-south routing over CPR's lines south of Montreal, and CPR subsidiary the Delaware and Hudson Railway will generate more traffic and revenue. The railroads plan to begin implementing the plan Nov. 19. Under the agreement, CPR will move CN's and NS' eastern U.S.-bound traffic on its line between Rouses Point and Saratoga Springs, N.Y. NS then will move trains between Saratoga Springs and a connection near Harrisburg, Pa.

In October, CPR and CN announced a series of co-production agreements designed to speed Port of Vancouver traffic in British Columbia, and a plan to share capacity in the Vancouver area to improve transit times.