Major Company Making Big Investment in Brampton

Published July 11, 2018 at 7:51 pm

As Brampton grows into an urban centre that’s also a hotspot for business, transportation, and innovation projects, it’s no surprise that major companies have their eye on our city.

As Brampton grows into an urban centre that’s also a hotspot for business, transportation, and innovation projects, it’s no surprise that major companies have their eye on our city. Now, the Canadian National (CN) Railway system is expanding in Brampton in a big way.

CN announced that it’s investing a whopping $315 million across the province to expand the rail network across Ontario.

As part of that investment, CN’s Brampton Intermodal Terminal is getting some major upgrades.

Located at Airport Road and Intermodal Drive, here’s a look at the planned expansions, according to a recent release from CN:

  • Investments in a satellite intermodal facility near CN’s Brampton Intermodal Terminal to provide temporary capacity  
  • Intermodal equipment and infrastructure at CN’s Brampton Intermodal Terminal to serve growing cold supply chain business

To top it off, CN is also conducting some serious maintenance across the track system.

That includes replacing approximately 90 miles of rail, installing more than 380,000 new railroad ties, rebuilding  approximately 60 road crossing surface, and even maintenance work on bridges, culverts, signal systems and other track infrastructure.

The entire rail network stretches the across the province, and the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) boasts MacMillan Yard, CN’s largest rail car classification facility, and Brampton Intermodal Terminal, which is actually CN’s largest intermodal facility. According to CN, the provincial network reaches other terminals across Canada’s industrial heartland, from Thunder Bay to Sarnia.        

CN’s investment also includes construction of a new train passing siding east of Sioux Lookout.

According to CN, the entire $315 million program includes track and intermodal projects to boost capacity and improve efficiency across the province.

“We are investing for the long haul with these projects to boost capacity and network resiliency to meet growing demand across our economy,” said Michael Farkouh, vice-president of CN’s Eastern Region.

“Our investments in track and intermodal yard capacity combined with new equipment will help us deliver superior service to our customers in Ontario and North America. Additionally, our substantial investments to renew our existing railway infrastructure underscores our commitment to operating safely.”

CN has a record $3.4 billion capital program planned for 2018, including a new train passing through Northern Ontario linking Toronto and Winnipeg, and intermodal rail yard expansions that aim to improve efficient movement of containers into and out of the GTHA.

“I applaud CN’s investment in important railway infrastructure across Ontario,” said Navdeep Bains, the Canadian minister of innovation, science and economic development. “These investments will help connect Canadians by improving transportation and will maintain and expand CN’s workforce of nearly 4,000 Ontarians.” 

“This is good news for Ontario and for Ontario jobs,” said Doug Ford, premier of Ontario, in a statement.

“It is particularly good news for the communities, businesses and jobs that depend on our natural resource and manufacturing sectors. I applaud CN for walking the walk and sending a clear signal to the world that it’s a great time to invest in our province. Ontario is open for business.”  

What do you think of CN’s investment in Brampton?

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