CP implements infrastructure enhancements

In order to expand its protective and perishable service products and reduce customs inspections delays, the rail line has purchased 41 new gensets and successfully implemented a new “live” lift function on the U.S.-Canada border.    Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) has undergone infrastructure enhancements to expand its protective and perishable service (PPS) product and reduce delays caused by customs inspections at border crossings.
   CP has purchased 41 brand new gensets to improve its PPS product, which “allow it to launch more transcontinental genset train starts from the ports of Vancouver and Montreal than any other Class I railroad,” the Calgary-based company said in a statement.
   Gensets are purpose built 40-foot containers that house two large generators capable of powering up to 17 refrigerated ocean-going containers and are equipped with the latest telematics and fuel efficient technology, according to CP. The new gensets are to be delivered throughout the remainder of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018.
   Meanwhile, CP said it has successfully implemented a new “live” lift system at Portal, N.D., as of May that will reduce customs delays at the U.S.-Canada border.
   Portal is the border crossing for CP’s intermodal traffic moving between Western Canada and the U.S. Midwest, and the new “live” lift allows CP to lift single containers off of trains for inspection by Canadian and U.S. authorities, as opposed to having entire intermodal cars that could hold three or more containers set off.
   According to CP, “this investment will virtually eliminate non-targeted containers from being delayed at the border crossing.”
   “We have a proven operating model, the shortest routes in key markets, and are now making great strides in customer service,” said Keith Creel, CP’s president and CEO. “Over the last four years, a lot of work has been done to improve our cost structure and build a strong foundation for success. We are now well positioned to leverage CP’s safe, highly efficient and low-cost transportation model.
   “Simply put, we have fixed the engine and are now focused on sustainable growth and best serving our customers,” said Creel.