WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Cando Contracting Ltd. and Canadian Pacific Railway have reached a multi-faceted agreement that will centralize the operations of Cando’s wholly owned subsidiary, the Central Manitoba Railway, in the city’s northeast and provide future growth opportunities for rail-related business.
The deal includes the sale and lease of 32 acres of CPR’s North Transcona property to Cando to centralize and expand CEMR operations, as well as construction of new facilities and an agreement for CEMR to haul CPR traffic between Bird’s Hill and North Transcona.
The new CEMR site, next to CPR’s North Transcona Yard west of Day St., will include an office complex, locomotive refueling depot, engine storage and repair building and a road/rail transfer facility. Cando has also acquired 7,000 metres of CPR storage and switching tracks in the yard and built a 600-metre rail line connecting its Pine Falls subdivision to the yard.
“This innovative deal with Canadian Pacific Railway not only complements our current operations, it allows our company to greatly expand the range of services we provide shippers,” commented Lee Jebb, Cando’s Regional General Manager. “Our new facilities are in a prime location that is easily accessible and we now have the unique ability to switch with both national railways. We are nicely positioned to grow our company and to contribute to the growth of rail-based transportation in Manitoba.”
As part of the same deal, CEMR will haul traffic from a Bird’s Hill oil refinery via its Pine Falls subdivision to North Transcona where it will be transferred to CPR’s main line for onward shipment. The agreement combines Cando’s ability to provide flexible local service with CPR’s strengths as a high-volume, long-distance carrier.
“Current and future customers will be well served by this new partnership and we see tremendous potential for additional growth in the area,” said Don Campbell, CPR’s Vice President of Business Development. “Modern facilities, fluid rail connections and access to a transcontinental rail network are all right there. North Transcona is a model for how shortlines and larger railways can work together to deliver economic benefits to a community.”
Cando Contracting Ltd. is an employee owned railway support and services company based out of Brandon, Manitoba and operating in various locations across North America. Its operations include shortline railways; industrial rail switching; transloading and logistics services; construction, maintenance and contract services; and specialized material sales. The Central Manitoba Railway is a 118-mile shortline railway conducting industrial switching services in and around Winnipeg and running north as far as Pine Falls and southwest as far as Graysville, Manitoba.
