Railway Track & Structures - December 2008 - (Page 10)

I N D U S T R Y T O D AY In 2007, CN conducted geometric testing of approximately 65,000 miles of track, an increase of 35 per cent over 2006. This year CN planned to boost its geometric testing by a further 15 per cent to 75,000 track miles. Also, CN acquired the three principal railway subsidiaries of the Quebec Railway Corp. and a QRC rail-freight ferry operation for $C49.8 million. Under the transaction, CN is purchasing 540 track miles of rail line it formerly owned in eastern Ontario, eastern Quebec and northern New Brunswick, as well as a ferry service on the St. Lawrence River in eastern Quebec. CN sold the rail lines to QRC in the late 1990s and has held a minority equity interest in the ferry operation since its start-up in 1975. The QRC properties CN is purchasing are the: • Chemin de fer de la Matapédia et du Golfe. CFMG has 221 miles of track, interchanging with CN at Rivière-du-Loup, Que. It runs from Rivière-du-Loup to Campbellton, N.B., where it meets QRC's New Brunswick East Coast Railway. CFMG also has a line between Mont-Joli and Matane, Que., where a rail ferry operates to the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. CFMG serves major shippers of aluminum, paper and forest products. VIA Rail Canada Inc. uses the line between Rivière-du-Loup and Campbellton for its maritime service between Montreal and Halifax. • New Brunswick East Coast Railway. The NBEC runs between Campbellton and Pacific Junction near Moncton, N.B. It is 196 miles long and interchanges with CN at Moncton Yard. In tandem with CFMG, the NBEC serves major shippers mainly in the mining and pulp and paper industries. VIA Rail uses the line between Campbellton and Pacific Junction for its Montreal-Halifax service. • Ottawa Central Railway (OCR). The OCR runs between Coteau, Que., where it interchanges with CN, and Pembroke, Ont. It also serves Hawkesbury, Ont. Between Coteau and Ottawa, the OCR operates over VIA Rail trackage. Major commodities carried by the OCR include newsprint, salt, forest products, steel wire rod and billets. • Compagnie de gestion de Matane inc. (COGEMA). COGEMA provides shuttle boat-rail freight service on the St. Lawrence River between Matane and Baie-Comeau, Que., and other ports on the North Shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence when required. The rail ferry has a capacity of 25 rail cars. CFMG connects with the ferry at Matane and interchanges traffic with CN at Rivière-du-Loup. CN will invest capital over the next three years to upgrade the rail lines of the acquired properties, and will replace the existing locomotive fleet with more modern motive power. CN will assume the operation and management contract for the Chemin de fer de la Gaspésie, which runs from Matapédia to Gaspé, Que. Excluded from the transaction are QRC's Sydney Coal Railway Inc. subsidiary in Sydney, N.S., and its Chemin de fer de Charlevoix inc. (CFC) unit running east of Quebec City to Clermont, Que. 10 Railway Track & Structures December 2008 www.rtands.com http://www.rtands.com

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Railway Track & Structures - December 2008 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Hand-Held Tools Continue Big Role in Railroad Engineering AREMA C&S Moving Ahead Optimizing Winter Speed Restrictions RTA 2008 Conference Makes Splash in Savannah, Ga. Products and Literature People Calendar Sales Representatives Advertisers Index Website Directory Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - December 2008

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