A CN Rail vice president says the company is developing a plan of ”resiliency” to prevent another winter of grain transportation delays.
Sean Finn met with representatives of several farm organizations in Regina on Wednesday, including Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, SaskWheat, SaskFlax and the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association.
“It’s a way for us to say ‘here is what we are planning on doing. Do you have any views? How can we do things differently and are we hitting on the right issues for you?”
Under new transportation legislation, both railways need to prepare a preliminary plan for fall and winter grain movement. The deadline for that plan is at the end of July.
CN Rail is in the process of training 1,200 new conductors. Finn says they will be ready by the fall and winter.
The company is also improving the rail line between Edmonton and Winnipeg, which will improve rail capacity.
“When you extend sidings or put sidings at closer distances, you create more capacity. A double track allows us to move trains in both directions and opens up more capacity to keep the network fluid,” says Finn.
CN has also purchased 200 new locomotives, including 60 that were delivered last month.