CP Railway, Fraser River port join to seize Asia-Pacific growth

CP Railway, Fraser River port join to seize Asia-Pacific growth    Canadian Pacific Railway and the Fraser River Port Authority Thursday signed a cooperation agreement aimed at enhancing rail service through the British Columbia port and to coordinate investments in infrastructure to help capture more global trade.
   Under the terms of the agreement, the two parties will consult on market and trade outlooks and business development opportunities, coordinate investments, and engage in multimodal planning to build or expand port and rail infrastructure such as terminals and track. The port authority will also support CP Railway’s efforts to improve access to Fraser River facilities.
   Recently, the Canadian government announced C$590 million ($497 million) in funding for port and transportation infrastructure programs to support further development of the Pacific Gateway. Container volumes at British Columbia ports are projected to grow to between 5 million and 7 million TEUs by 2020, from 2 million TEUs this year.
   “Today’s initiative, coupled with the significant Gateway infrastructure investments coming from industry and the federal and provincial governments, will ensure the capacity of Fraser River Port can increase to handle a full one-third of the expected cargo that will pass through the Pacific Gateway by 2020,” said Allen Domaas, president and chief executive officer of Fraser River Port Authority.
   “Our agreement demonstrates further progress in bringing together the players in the supply chain to ensure Canadian businesses and the Canadian and B.C. economies have what they need to seize the opportunities presented by growing Asia-Pacific trade,” said Rob Ritchie, CP Railway’s CEO.