CN to spend $100 million upgrading Johnston Yard in Memphis

CN to spend $100 million upgrading Johnston Yard in Memphis    Canadian National Railway Co. said Wednesday it will spend $100 million to improve its 345-acre Johnston Yard freight train switching facility in Memphis.
   CN has previously acquired an additional 88 acres of adjacent property for the upgrading project, which started in February. Improvements will include new tracks, switches, support buildings and equipment, a new yard tower, car shop, and locomotive servicing facility.
   The work is expected to be completed for late 2008 when it will have a capacity of more than 3,100 freight cars. It will have 45 tracks in the classification yard, three 10,000-foot departure tracks, and eight 5,000-foot receiving tracks. When the reconfigured yard is in operation, it will be able to handle 35 or more freight trains per day.
   “The yard has experienced steadily increasing traffic volumes since CN’s acquisition of Illinois Central in 1999 and the recent implementation of CN’s routing protocols with the other major railroads in Memphis. This sizable investment will position Johnston Yard to handle existing and future traffic growth in the region, quickly and efficiently,” said E. Hunter Harrison, CN’s president and chief executive.