CN to haul CSXT’s Sarnia, Ont. traffic

CN to haul CSXT’s Sarnia, Ont. traffic    Canadian National Railway Co. and CSX Transportation Inc., reported Monday a long-term agreement for CN to haul CSXT traffic to and from Sarnia, Ont., and CSXT connections in Buffalo, N.Y., and Toledo, Ohio.
   Effective today, CN will also transport long-haul CSXT traffic destined for Canadian Pacific Railway to London, Ont., for interchange with CPR. This traffic has been interchanged between CSXT and CPR at Chatham. At the same time, CN will purchase 12.5 miles of CSXT track between Chatham and Blenheim, Ont., acquiring control of trackage connecting CN’s network to its Windsor classification yards and the Detroit-Windsor rail tunnel.
   CSXT will retain track and continue to serve its customers in Sarnia, and maintain operations on 27 miles of its line between Sarnia and Wallaceburg, Ont. CSXT plans to discontinue about 26 miles of track between Wallaceburg and Chatham.
   “The CSXT traffic will be a welcome addition to our network in Ontario, Michigan and Ohio, increasing freight densities and improving economies of scale. CN has the crews, locomotives and routes to provide solid, time-sensitive service to CSXT and its Sarnia customers,” said Keith Creel, senior vice-president of CN’s Eastern Canada Region.
   “CSXT’s important Sarnia customers will see better service and faster transit times via CN, compared with the more circuitous routing their traffic now takes via Chatham, Ont., Windsor, Detroit, Plymouth, Mich., and Toledo,” said Dean Piacente, vice president-chemicals and fertilizer for CSXT.