Canadian National acquires oil sands rail line
Canadian National Railway (CN) has acquired the Athabasca Northern Railway in Alberta for $25.3 million and plans to invest as much as $136 million to upgrade the rail link to the oil sands region of Northern Alberta. Athabasca Northern, which runs from Boyle, Alberta, to near Fort McMurray, Alberta, had been owned by Cando Contracting, but Reuters reports it was threatened with abandonment because of deteriorating tracks.
CN officials said that current traffic volumes on the rail line are “too low to keep it going as a stand-alone operation.” The company has received volume guarantees from shippers Suncor Energy, OPTI Canada, and Nexen. According to a company statement, currently sulphur and petroleum coke move southbound on the rail line and increased volumes of these commodities are expected to move over the line and rehabilitation, including upgraded rail, ties, bridges and new ballast, will allow greater volumes of northbound shipments.
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