MONTREAL and FORT WORTH, Tex., Jan. 19, 2006:
CN and BNSF Railway Company announced today an agreement focused on improving rail network fluidity and infrastructure capacity, principally in Vancouver, B.C., Chicago, and between Memphis and southern Illinois.
The agreement includes track and rail infrastructure exchanges between the railroads, and CN’s grant of trackage, haulage and other access rights to BNSF Railway.Highlights of the agreement are:
In Vancouver, B.C., CN will obtain operational, dispatching and maintenance control of 12 miles of joint track between the Fraser River Bridge in New Westminster, B.C., and ocean terminals on the south shore of Burrard Inlet near downtown Vancouver. This trackage also connects CN’s network with its north shore terminals, customers and the former BC Rail.
In Chicago, BNSF will obtain operational, dispatching and maintenance control of CN’s Corwith Tower interlocker, and obtain trackage rights on CN for 30 miles between Corwith and Joliet, Ill., and on two miles of CN’s 49th Street line.
BNSF will obtain trackage rights on CN’s main lines between Memphis and southern Illinois. CN will also transfer its Memphis interlocker to BNSF. Matthew K. Rose, BNSF’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, said, "These agreements provide BNSF with increased capacity and dispatching efficiencies in Chicago and Memphis. In addition, we now can tap CN’s surplus capacity between Memphis and Centralia, Ill., to expand our ability to handle more traffic."
E. Hunter Harrison, CN’s president and chief executive officer, said:
This is a cut and paste from the BNSF's web site, and I thought that it might shed a little more light on where the BNSF might be heading with this purchase from St.Louis to DuQuoin, Il.. Looks like they are/or could be setting up for a new gateway into the southeast, by accessing the CN at this area. The Centralia/Jackson, Tn line might be an option for trackage rights which brings them pretty close to a St. Louis to New Albany, Ms. connection or even a St. Louis/ Holly Springs, Ms connection[via the old Miss Central line from Jackson,Tn to Holly Sprngs,Ms] which ties into the BNSF Memphis/Birmingham main line.. could give them a shorter run to the southeast to Atlanta from the North west.. Lots of options open up with the potential connections that the CN/BNSF cooperation opens up.
Just my thoughts,
Sam
