Canadian Railroads > CN bids on Halifax port, wants "Prince Rupert of the East"

CN and an undisclosed partner have placed a bid for Halifax's Halterm container terminal.
The terminal is served exclusively by CN.

In an interview with the Financial Post,
CN's president and CEO, J.J. Ruest, said he wants to create the "Prince Rupert of the East."
He said that he would like the port to handle two large ships at a time, instead of one.
He would also like the port to assemble container trains of at least 12,000 feet in length.

https://business.financialpost.com/transportation/cn-makes-an-offer-for-largest-shipping-terminal-in-eastern-canada

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/cn-bids-for-halifax-container-terminal-1.4935589

https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/business/cn-rail-in-joint-bid-for-halterm-stake-266127/



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/18 21:24 by Marcus.

Can this route handle 12,000 foot trains?

Based on the great reporting we get here, I’m guessing CN currently runs one large stack train plus a manifest freight in and out of Halifax daily. How does this compare to say...20 years ago when the new tunnel opened at Sarnia and they were aiming to make Halifax a big player in the Atlantic market? Also, how many do they run in and out of Rupert on an average day?

Posted from iPhone

Can the long pier be extended southeasterly into the bay to accommodate another ship on either side?

In response to the questions.

Trains up to 14000’ have been run in and out of Halifax, 10000 to 12000’ is common for trains 120 and 121.

You are correct about one stack train each way in and out of Halifax each day. There is no manifest train into Halifax, it runs Dartmouth-Truro-Moncton. Halifax manifest traffic goes as far as Moncton on the stack train.

Comparing traffic to 20 years ago, we now have one stack train each way instead of three. Having said that the tonnage moved by that one stack train is equal to the three trains previously run. Not sure how many trains a day go in and out of Rupert.

As for extending the pier to the southeast, plans are already underway for exactly that.

Andrew C

Thanks for the info on the pier.  I've been on cruise ships into Halifax, I didn't know if extending that pier would be a nav issue, or afect some marine aqualife

andrewcastle Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In response to the questions.
>
> Trains up to 14000’ have been run in and out of
> Halifax, 10000 to 12000’ is common for trains
> 120 and 121.
>
> You are correct about one stack train each way in
> and out of Halifax each day. There is no manifest
> train into Halifax, it runs
> Dartmouth-Truro-Moncton. Halifax manifest traffic
> goes as far as Moncton on the stack train.
>
> Comparing traffic to 20 years ago, we now have one
> stack train each way instead of three. Having said
> that the tonnage moved by that one stack train is
> equal to the three trains previously run. Not sure
> how many trains a day go in and out of Rupert.
>
> As for extending the pier to the southeast, plans
> are already underway for exactly that.
>
> Andrew C

Based on what I've read here on many of the posts that have been made, usually with some killer photographs, that there is essentially only one train each way a day to/from Halifax, correct?  Of course, that train is usually huge, with double stack containers and carload (manifest) traffic on the rear.