CN adding track to Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet corridor

The agreement was reached last week to double-track a four-kilometer section that links south shore terminals to the national rail network.    The Canadian National Railway, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and Canadian federal government have signed an agreement to add a second railway track to the Burrard Inlet rail corridor, which serves Vancouver’s south shore port area.
   The project involves double-tracking a four-kilometer — about 2.5-mile — section of the track that links the expanding import and export terminals on Burrard Inlet’s south shore to the national network, CN said Thursday in a press release. 
   The Class I railroad said it will create more rail capacity, allow for a better flow of rail traffic in and out of the port and improve supply chain efficiencies by building the second track.
   “The Port of Vancouver is the busiest global trade export gateway of Canada and we must make the most of the existing limited assets,” JJ Ruest, president and CEO of CN, said. “Increasing run-through rail capacity with strategic investments will benefit all aspects of the supply chain.”
   Robin Silvester, the port authority’s president and CEO, said the project is part of a large group of projects over the next decade that will help the port meet Canadian demands for Asian import goods and expand the country’s exports.
   “By contributing to new road and rail infrastructure beyond the port, we can help ease the impacts of growing trade on local communities while fulfilling our federal mandate to facilitate Canada’s trade objectives,” Silvester said.
   CN said it was in negotiations with partners and stakeholders about the next steps and timeline to expedite construction and complete the project.