MONTREAL — Paul M. Tellier, president and chief executive officer of Canadian National, today presided over the inauguration of CN’s new state-of-the-art intermodal terminal at Taschereau Yard, a $47 million investment that equips CN to expand its fast-growing intermodal business.
Federal Transport Minister David Collenette, Quebec Transport Minister Serge Menard, and Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay joined Tellier at the official ceremony opening of the Montreal Intermodal Terminal at Taschereau (MITT). The new terminal is readily accessible to Quebec Highways 13 and 20.
“Intermodal traffic – the transportation of containers and truck trailers by rail – is central to CN’s market share and revenue growth plans,” Tellier said. “To win more intermodal business, CN is finding innovative ways to serve our customers more efficiently. And we’ve done that at Taschereau, a key terminal in our efficient network of 20 strategically located hubs and satellites in Canada and the United States.”
A major advance at MITT is Speed Gate, CN Intermodal’s new automated gate system that gives truckers faster terminal access through automated self-serve gate stands and also ensures high levels of security.
CN consolidated intermodal operations at its sprawling 920-acre Taschereau Yard because it has the space for expansion. The new intermodal terminal occupies about 25 per cent of Taschereau Yard and has room to increase capacity by 30 per cent.
Last year, CN moved more than 1.1 million intermodal units across North America, with volumes growing by three per cent in Montreal. With nine cranes on site and 1,500 units moved from the yard everyday by rail and truck, MITT is already a busy hub. On average, more than a thousand trucks are expected to pass through the yard daily.
Construction of MITT took 14 months and involved major infrastructure work, including a new railway bridge, an Intermodal operations building as well as the installation of the Speed Gate. The terminal represents a major investment in Montreal, the site of CN head office and a major container port city.
Canadian National Railway Company spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key cities of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, St. Louis, Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America.