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Late last year, several Class Is reached routing protocol agreements aimed at sharing lines to speed traffic in certain corridors. Now, Canadian National Railway Co. has reached a similar agreement with a regional. CN and Ontario Northland Railway recently entered into a two-year routing pact to expedite traffic in northeastern Ontario and northwestern Quebec.

CN will pay the 700-mile regional a fee to move freight between North Bay and Noranda, Quebec, and Noranda and Hearst, Ontario. The routes will shave about 850 miles off CN and CN/Ontario Northland moves. The Class I and regional interchange in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, and North Bay and Hearst, Ontario.

CN and Ontario Northland also agreed to use the regional's Hearst-to-Noranda route for traffic moving between western Canada and the United States, and northwestern Quebec. The route is about 620 miles shorter than CN's via Toronto and Ontario Northland's via North Bay, and avoids marshalling at CN's Toronto yard.

"This agreement is a winning proposition [by] reducing costs and improving network fluidity," said Keith Creel, senior vice president of CN's Eastern Canada Region, in a prepared statement.

Ontario Northland plans to increase train frequency over the routes from five days to seven days. CN will offer its guaranteed car-order program to the regional's customers and assume responsibility for switching Ontario Northland's cars in Noranda.