CN's Mongeau praises Port of Prince Rupert terminal expansion plan

CN President and Chief Executive Officer Claude Mongeau on Tuesday welcomed Maher Terminals Holding Corp.'s announcement that it plans to expand container-handling capacity of the Port of Prince Rupert's Fairview Container Terminal to more than 1.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually from 850,000 TEUs.

"This investment in terminal expansion to accommodate future growth in overseas container traffic is good news for CN's customers and the Pacific Gateway we serve," said Mongeau in a press release.

Opened in 2007, the Fairview terminal has become a major gateway success for trade between Asia, Canada and the U.S. Midwest. Traffic through the terminal has grown at a faster pace than any terminal in North America. In 2014, volume rose 15 percent over 2013 volume, according to CN.

The Class I is proud of the role it has played in the terminal's success, Mongeau said.

"We will continue to invest in rail capacity improvements along our route from northern British Columbia to key markets such as Chicago and Memphis," he said. "Our investment in the Kaien long rail siding just outside of Fairview terminal is helping us to accommodate growth in container volumes with greater efficiency. We will also expand our intermodal network and terminal capacity to continue playing our role as true backbone of the economy."

Prince Rupert is the closest major North American port to Asia. It has direct on-dock access to CN's rail network. The Fairview Container Terminal expansion project is expected to start in April and be completed by mid-2017.