EDMONTON, Alberta — One of the largest and heaviest cargos ever moved by rail in North America arrived at its destination near Fort McMurray, Alta., today following a 1,500-mile overland journey from the Great Lakes, the Canadian National Railway reported in a press release. The 65-car special train carried many key components for a new oil sands expansion project under construction in Northern Alberta.
To view the train, please click on the following link:
http://www2.cdn-news.com/database/fax/2000/train.jpg
The train was an international team effort led by Canadian National’s Clearance Bureau, which provided the specialized loading, logistics and clearance expertise for the 10-day move. Other rail partners included Burlington Northern Santa Fe, which carried the oversize vessels and related components from the Port of Duluth, Minn., to the Canadian border, plus two short-line carriers, Athabasca Northern Railway and Rail America.
The special train they assembled consisted of two locomotives, 17 specialized loaded railcars with eight to 12 axles each, 24 cars of miscellaneous equipment, as well as 24 spacer cars to balance the load. Some individual components measured 80 feet long and weighed more than 1.5 million pounds.
“CN is committed to working with major oil sands developers like Syncrude to continually improve rail service into and out of the Fort McMurray area,” said Peter Ladouceur, CN assistant vice-president, Pacific Division sales. “This latest move clearly shows how rail carriers can partner with the oil and gas industry to ensure safe and timely delivery of critical manufactured components.”
Syncrude is in the midst of a major expansion of its operations in northern Alberta. The company mines oil sand from the earth that is impregnated with oil, separates the two and then upgrades the oil to a high quality product.
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, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America.