CN issues annual plan for tackling winter challenges

CN has published its 2025-26 winter plan for handling freight during the seasonal challenges, as required by Transport Canada. 

"Our winter plan lays out how our teams, assets and processes are in place so we can deliver safe, reliable service and support our customers through the season," said CN President and CEO Tracy Robinson in a press release.

CN prepares for winter year-round, investing in upgrading equipment and infrastructure. The Class I dedicated C$3 billion in 2025 to expand key corridors, added double tracked sections and upgrade major yards to boost capacity. About C$1.5 billion of that funding supports western Canada, specifically key corridors between Edmonton, Alberta, and West Coast ports. 

Since 2023, CN converted 170 locomotives from direct current to alternating current traction, reducing failures in extreme cold. This modernization program will enable the Class I to deploy 50 additional AC-traction locomotives in western Canada this winter, CN officials said in the plan.

CN also added 750 new high-efficiency hopper cars, 600 ore cars and 300 bi-level autoracks to its fleet in 2024, supporting additional capacity. Over 2,800 wayside detectors, seven automated inspection portals and 10 automated track inspection program railcars will be active in winter, generating millions of data points for predictive maintenance and safety.

Regulatory changes are presenting challenges to winter planning, CN officials said. New Canadian labor rules require more crews to move the same amount of freight previously done by one crew. This challenge, paired with proposed training and qualification regulations, will further constrain crew availability, they added.

"CN continues to engage with government to advocate for policies that support investment, productivity and supply chain resiliency," CN officials said in the winter plan summary.

The full winter plan can be downloaded here.