Canadian National Railway or CN (NYSE: CNI) on Thursday outlined its plans to invest about $80 million in Minnesota in 2019 to bolster its rail network across the state.
“Following a record capital program in 2018, CN has been able to take on more traffic from different commodity sectors based on contracts with our customers,” said CN’s Southern Region VP, Derek Taylor.
“This year, we are continuing to invest to boost capacity and network resiliency and to meet growing traffic on our corridors across Minnesota,” he added.
The Minnesota investments are part of CN’s mammoth $2.9-billion capital investment in 2019 focused on enabling growth from all commodity segments, including consumer goods, grain, agricultural, forest, and energy products from all of our customers, safely and efficiently.
Over two years, CN will have made a $5.7-billion capital investment.
“From farmers to manufacturers, so many critical sectors of Minnesota’s economy are dependent on a functioning railway system,” said US Representative Pete Stauber.
“As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I am committed to improving our rail infrastructure and am thankful that CN shares that commitment. CN’s investment will go a long way to strengthen Minnesota’s rail infrastructure and keep our economy running on all cylinders,” he added.
CN is currently deploying important safety-enhancing technologies across its network, such as the Autonomous Track Inspection Program, Distributed Air Cars, Automated Inspection Portals, and Positive Train Control System. These innovations, combined with CN’s investments in locomotives, capacity, infrastructure, and train crews, will support the safe and efficient movement of our customers’ goods to their end markets.