Canadian Pacific Railway is investing $100 million over the next two years to enhance its rail service in North Dakota.
The company plans to expand the capacity of three rail subdivisions in the state and will hire more than 70 new employees in North Dakota to better serve the state’s grain and oil industries.
“North Dakota is a source of growth for CP and the Midwest’s economy with its increased grain production, vast oil deposits in the Bakken Formation and the continued strength of ethanol,” said CPR executive vice-p resident of marketing Jane O’Hagan.
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Jack Dalrymple, North Dakota’s governor, welcomed the $100 million investment.
“This is another step forward in our continuing efforts to expand our market access for farmers, for oil production and for other industry.”
Earlier this year CPR announced it will spend $950 million to $1.05 billion on capital projects in 2011 to improve the railway’s productivity, technology and service.
“This (North Dakota) is the first of a number of investments under that program that we are announcing,” said Mike LoVecchio, CPR spokesperson.
CPR has been under fire this year from farm groups, grain companies, commodity groups and the Canadian and provincial governments for poor service in Canada this winter.
However, when asked if CPR is planning capital investments for its rail lines and yards in Western Canada, LoVecchio said he couldn’t comment.
The investment of $100 million into North Dakota will pay for:
• A superintendent of operations territory focused on traffic between Enderlin, N.D., and Portal, N.D.;
• Capacity expansion over the next two years on the Newtown, Portal and Carrington subdivisions;
• Hiring more than 70 new employees to expand CP’s train crew base in 2011, growing CP’s workforce in North Dakota by 18 percent. CPR’s main line, the Soo Line, runs diagonally across North Dakota connecting Western Canada to the U.S. Midwest.
The rail line cuts through the Bakken Formation, which lies under parts of Montana, North Dakota, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
The U.S. Geological Service has estimated that three to 4.3 million barrels of oil may be recoverable from the Bakken Formation.
