CP Track Upgrades & Infrastructure of CMQ

backroadrails wrote: ↑Mon Nov 23, 2020 10:47 pm Interestingly enough, they installed defect detectors on the Millinocket Sub.

Just one, at West Seboeis. Two installed on the Bangor Sub, at Lancaster Brook Road in Glenburn, and the other at Mill Road in Lagrange. Three installed on the Moosehead, one at Onawa, one at Long Pond, and the last one in Holeb.

Has any of the railroad infrastructure at searsport been upgraded yet? I keep watching for ships docking a searsport. Most are petroleum products tankers. Only a tiny number of bulkers or general cargo ships this fall so I suspect not much has moved via rail to/from the port since the cp takeover

B&A is planned for 2021 work, priority day 1 has been Moosehead on the east/west corridor as soon as they can.

Canadian track speeds will increase in December after Transport Canada inspects rails

Searsport ???
I read somewhere that CP was interested in using Searsport for export of grain and potash as they would have one long haul from the Canadian prairies. Looking at the port on Google Earth shows that it would need a helluva lot of work for grain export though.

Exactly. They have definitely mentioned potash. That’s why I’m curious is work at the port has commenced as I think it needs a lot of upgrades

Simply curious your definition of a helluva lot of work

I specifically refer to the track layout and lack as far as I can tell of any system for unloading potash or grain cars and efficiently transferring the materials to the ship or storing the product near the docks
So: a loop track (or at least a spur with a long tail) with a mechanism to dump the cars,
A conveyor system to move the material into the ship’s hold
Significantly Expanded and rebuilt yard to handle a much higher volume of rail traffic—current yard has all of 5 tracks and the south end is cutoff.
Expanded near-dock storage including grain silos if cereals will be exported
I envision facilities similar to what is just south of prince Rupert on cn for shipping out bulk commodities
I am not aware of upgrades needed to the pier itself or channel dredging but that’s always possible depending on ship size

Maybe they could reuse the equipment already in Eastport that is sitting there doing nothing. Maine has already paid for the equipment, maybe they can dismantle it and bring it to Searsport. Has anyone heard from from the NIMBYS IN Searport about any of these activities?

Yes, a machine like at Eastport if not that one. Query- I have seen commercial ships dock at east port on the ship trackers online . What product does Eastport move? Maybe cp can steal that traffic for searsport

A loop track is being designed (difference between design work and planned to build) and you can repurpose an existing (I like that idea of Eastport) or build a new rail unloading conveyor system.

You don't need an A frame or covered storage if you are moving startup volumes (unit train wise), just need to coordinate the logistics with the vessel to optimize equipment turns with railcars.

Other than that Searsport is good to go for a bulk setup... before you build the church for Easter Sunday you need a book of business, so silos, A-frames, ect would definitely be over kill at first. You also need a long standing commitment and a firm investment partner.

Car storage wise isn't really an issue either after they do some track work next year.... you can use the existing tracks there and at NMJ only 30 miles up the road without having to add much.

Canpotex still has a plan to try to get the Canadian Gov't to modify long-haul interswitching rules to allow CP access at the existing terminal at Saint John, which makes sense from a supply chain stand point if you can get a second carrier into your existing facility.

But you can never tell, the Potash markets in Brazil, Africa and Europe have already grown and over taken volumes headed to Asia, so there is growing demand on the East Coast for export operations no doubt. Record grain year over year too might have some influence although QC and SJ are being marketed already for Grain export (you can check CP's marketing materials for that)

Alright, so we’ll watch and see what business cp can drum up for searsport and the loop track that I hope will be constructed to make the place better for bulk exports

Big picture look at CP's potential
https://www.joc.com/port-news/cp-buildi ... 01125.html

The JOC article about CP's Saint John intermodal prospects is very interesting. Building substantial sustainable container traffic at Saint John for CP is clearly not a slam dunk. Even with DP World at SJ getting a $205M public investment makeover to attain 300,000 annual TEU is equivalent to a little more than one 5,000 TEU ship (ie, the Montreal max) per week.

I'm puzzled by this sentence in the JoC article:

By the end of the year, CP said investment will be in place to keep rail dwell times — the time it takes to transport containers from the marine terminal to the rail ramp — under two days, and rail transits of within 24 hours to Montreal, 48 hours to Toronto, and 70 hours to Chicago.

Why will it take 2 days to dray a container between the port and the NBS container yard? Does that include getting container on or off the ship?

I give CP a lot of credit for its investment in pursuing this business.

That’s not what it means.... it’s on dock dwell time.

You mean it is expected to take up to 48 hours between when the box is lifted off the ship and when it lands in a well car? With the 24 hours of promised travel time SJ to Montreal, that’s only 3 days for the box to arrive in Montreal. That’s much better than they did with the diverted hapag ships.