CN announced a $12-million expansion of its Locomotive Reliability Centre (LRC) in Prince George, B.C. Keith Creel, CN Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, said: “The Prince George LRC is strategically located midway between Edmonton, Alta., and Prince Rupert, B.C., and serviced locomotives for more than 9,000 CN trains last year. We are at maximum capacity at the LRC, with three shifts per day, seven days a week, and we need to expand it to handle existing and forecast growth of intermodal, coal and other traffic in Northern B.C.”
CN will increase floor space at the Prince George locomotive shop by 50 per cent to nearly 50,000 square feet, permitting the addition of four repair bays with pits to handle the forecast increase in locomotive inspections and repairs.
CN will also spend more than $4 million this year to extend two key sidings North of Prince George on the line toward Chetwynd, B.C., to accommodate 10,000-foot coal trains serving mines in Northeastern region of the province.
Including the LRC project and siding extensions this year, CN will have spent more than $60 million since 2004 on capital projects in the city. Initiatives have included:
• The construction and expansion of a major transloading and intermodal terminal for the export forest products via the port of Prince Rupert;
• Yard capacity expansion and upgrades;
• Mechanical installations to repair and service freight cars and,
• Environmental controls, including a fueling station upgrading and new storm water sewers.
In addition to capital spending in the Prince George area, by year-end 2012, CN will have invested more than $150 million since 2004 in longer sidings along the Edmonton-Prince Rupert corridor.