CN improves Toronto-area terminal

CN improves Toronto-area terminal    Canadian National Railway Co. said Tuesday it has increased capacity at its Brampton Intermodal Terminal (BIT) due to growing container volumes and to ensure a high level of service for intermodal customers across its system.
   Through the end of April, the terminal has handled 12 percent more than in the same 2010 period.
   The terminal is located in what CN said is “the prime logistics area of Greater Toronto.” CN said it is Canada’s largest rail intermodal terminal and a key component in its distribution network because almost 60 percent of CN’s system-wide intermodal business touches the facility.
   Improvements include:
   ' Installing new track and extending existing track to increase rail capacity by close to 15 percent.
   ' Creating about 25 percent more ground space for international containers by staging CN containers offsite.
   ' Purchasing five new cranes in 2011, after acquiring five last fall.
   ' Increasing the labor force by about 10 percent in 2011.
   “Intermodal is one of CN’s fastest-growing business segments,” said Claude Mongeau, president and chief executive officer of CN. The improvements “take our intermodal service offering to the next level in efficiently distributing growing overseas container traffic reaching our network over Canadian ports as well as rising domestic intermodal shipments across Canada. These investments will increase supply chain efficiencies for our customers and help them grow their businesses.”
   Charles Campbell, managing director of NYK Line (Canada) Inc., said “We have seen major improvements at Brampton Intermodal Terminal” including shortened turn times.'