CP Railway completes another capacity expansion project

CP Railway completes another capacity expansion project Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) has extended its mainline double track at Aikins, just east of Swift Current in Canada, by about 5,200 feet, increasing the potential train-length capacity to up to 11,000 feet.
   The project also involved measures to reduce blocked crossings in Swift Current by constructing new crossovers, allowing trains to move from one track to another, and upgrading the signal system at affected crossings.
   The track work required more than 3,700 railway ties, more than 12,100 feet of steel rail weighing 276 tons, and about 7,800 tons of rock ballast.
   The project was one of 25 projects CPR has committed C$160 million ($128.6 million) towards increasing train capacity on its network between the Prairies and the port of Vancouver, British Columbia. All the projects are expected to be complete by the fourth quarter, when CPR said it will be able to run an additional four trains daily — or more than 400 freight cars a day — representing a 12 percent increase in capacity between the Prairies and Vancouver port.