MONTREAL – Canadian National announced today it will acquire 350 new boxcars and 200 new centerbeam flatcars next year for its service-sensitive forest products customers.
The high-cube 50-foot boxcars for newsprint and fine papers, and the 73-foot centerbeam cars for lumber, will incorporate the latest in rail car technology and will each have a gross rail load capacity of 286,000 pounds.
CN will build 100 of the boxcars at its Transcona Shops in Winnipeg, the first such construction program in decades. The remaining 250 boxcars will be constructed by Trinity Industries, Inc., with the centerbeams to be built by the Greenbrier Companies’ TrentonWorks Ltd.
Stan Jablonski, CN’s vice-president, forest products, said: “The availability of high-capacity, easy-to-load freight cars is critical to the needs of CN’s service-sensitive forest products customers.
“CN is the largest carrier of forest product commodities in North America and has grown its forest products market share on the strength of its highly-successful scheduled railroad services. The new rolling stock will enhance our forest products fleet, making CN’s customers more competitive in their end markets.
