January 18, 2018 – The extreme cold weather conditions in the Prairies and Western Canada have significantly reduced car velocity. As a result, we have been operating under reduced train-length restrictions between Toronto and Edmonton for several weeks. The cold operating conditions have also negatively impacted train operations in the U.S. Midwest, reducing overall fluidity of traffic in and out of the Prairies. Based on the weather forecast, we are projecting these restrictions will be lifted this week.

CN recognizes that terminal dwell at the west coast ports remains an issue. The increased dwell time has been caused, in part, by record container volumes and shortage in car supply. Timing of car supply has been an issue at times due to delayed trains caused by the extreme weather. There is a steady pipeline of rail cars to meet rail production at the west coast ports this week. GCT Deltaport will continue to truck to CN VIT to relieve congestion on the dock.

Carter turn times at Edmonton and Calgary have improved significantly, and ground counts within the terminals have decreased over the previous 7 days, allowing for increased fluidity in terminal operations. Average carter turn time at both terminals was within 45 minutes in the past 7 days.

Our other inland terminals are fluid. Average carter turn times at our Brampton Intermodal Terminal are within 45 minutes in January. The changes we made last year are generating very positive results.

CN is dedicated to improve our customer experience and we are making the necessary investments to deliver on this commitment. We will continue to work closely with our supply chain stakeholders to improve fluidity, and we will continue to focus on main line track infrastructure capacity and adjust our resources to meet the demands of your business.