CALGARY — Canadian Pacific Railway announced on January 16 that it will close its Lethbridge Frog Shop in May, the company announced in a press release.
In conjunction with the shop closure, eight positions will be eliminated. An additional 12 positions currently based at the shop will be relocated to adjacent CPR facilities in Lethbridge.
The shop produces second-hand frogs for use on CPR’s network. (A frog is railway terminology for a track component that allows trains to cross from one adjacent track to another.) In the future, the railway intends to purchase new frogs from third-party manufacturers, a more efficient alternative to internal remanufacturing of track components.
CPR advised Lethbridge employees today of the shop closure. Employees affected by the shop closure, represented by the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, are covered by the provisions of their collective agreement with CPR and were today provided with 120-day notices.
Following the closure of the shop in May, CPR will seek to sell the facility and approximately 4 acres of adjacent land.
Calgary-based CPR has a 14,000-mile network and serves the principal centres of Canada, from Montreal to Vancouver, and the U.S. Northeast and Midwest. CPR’s track provides a direct link between Chicago and the East and West coasts. Alliances with other carriers extend CPR’s market reach beyond its own network and into the major business centres of Mexico.