CN, CPR and Norfolk Southern Announce Agreement to Improve Freight Service Between Eastern Canada and the Eastern U.S.
09 November 2004 - 2:58AM
PR Newswire (US)
CN, CPR and Norfolk Southern Announce Agreement to Improve Freight
Service Between Eastern Canada and the Eastern U.S. MONTREAL, Nov.
8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CN, Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and
Norfolk Southern Railway (NSR) today announced an agreement that
will significantly improve freight service between Eastern Canada
and the Eastern United States. The three-party arrangement will
give CN and NSR a seamless, direct north- south routing over CPR's
lines south of Montreal that will slice as much as two days'
transit time off some 20,000 annual shipments. It will also
increase freight traffic density and revenues on CPR's wholly owned
subsidiary, the Delaware and Hudson Railway. Implementation is
scheduled to begin Nov. 19, 2004. CN-NSR traffic destined for the
Eastern U.S. will move in CPR trains on CPR's line between Rouses
Point, N.Y., and Saratoga Springs, under a freight haulage
arrangement between CPR and NSR. This CN-NSR traffic will then move
in NSR trains over CPR's line between Saratoga Springs and the NSR
connection near Harrisburg, Pa., under a trackage rights agreement
between CPR and NSR. The new agreement will cut 330 miles off the
current routing used by CN and NSR, which sees freight traffic
handled more circuitously through the Buffalo, N.Y., gateway. E.
Hunter Harrison, president and chief executive officer of CN, said:
"This three-railroad agreement will benefit both customers and
railroads. First, it will offer CN's existing merchandise carload
customers in Quebec and the Maritimes quicker access to important
consuming markets in the Eastern United States. And second, it will
enable the participating railroads to improve the utilization of
their networks and locomotive and car fleets." David R. Goode,
chairman and chief executive officer of NSR, said: "We continue to
identify and implement efficiencies benefiting shippers throughout
North America. This agreement demonstrates our commitment to
aggressively pursue opportunities to improve service." Rob Ritchie,
president and chief executive officer of CPR, said: "This is an
important initiative that takes costs out of the rail industry by
placing freight traffic on the most efficient routing without
regard to ownership. It also creates a significant source of new
earnings for our Delaware and Hudson subsidiary and is another
major milestone in improving the profitability and value of this
part of our network." 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. For more information, consult CN's website
at http://www.cn.ca/. Norfolk Southern Corporation is one of the
nation's premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern
Railway subsidiary operates 21,500 route miles in 22 states, the
District of Columbia and Ontario, Canada, serving every major
container port in the eastern United States and providing superior
connections to western rail carriers. NS operates the most
extensive intermodal network in the East and is North America's
largest rail carrier of automotive parts and finished vehicles. For
more information, visit Norfolk Southern's website at
http://www.nscorp.com/. Canadian Pacific Railway is a
transcontinental carrier operating in Canada and the U.S. Its
14,000-mile rail network serves the principal centers of Canada,
from Montreal to Vancouver, and the U.S. Northeast and Midwest
regions. CPR feeds directly into America's heartland from the East
and West coasts. Alliances with other carriers extend its market
reach throughout the U.S. and into Mexico. Canadian Pacific
Logistics Solutions provides logistics and supply chain expertise
worldwide. For more information, visit CPR's website at
http://www.cpr.ca/. DATASOURCE: Norfolk Southern Corporation
CONTACT: media, Mark Hallman, +1-905-669-3384 or investors, Robert
Noorigian, +1-514-399-0052, both of CN; media, Rudy Husband,
+1-610-567-3377 or investors, Leanne Marilley, +1-757-629-2861,
both of Norfolk Southern Railway; or media, Len Cocolicchio,
+1-403-319-7591, E-mail: or investors, Paul Bell, Vice-President,
Investor Relations, +1-403-319-3591, E-mail: , both of Canadian
Pacific Railway Web site: http://www.nscorp.com/ http://www.cn.ca/
http://www.cpr.ca/ Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/626525.html
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