CN’s Mainline of Mid-America feeds consumers in the US Gulf region

The heart of the CN network in the United States is the Illinois Central, also known as the Mainline of Mid-America. The line stretches from Chicago to New Orleans, and it is this line that CN uses to safely and reliably feed a steady diet of grain and other bulk commodities to facilities in the US Gulf region. CN’s other US rail subsidiaries are also very important components of CN’s network and its unique three-coast access.

The former Elgin, Joliet & Eastern allowed CN to link all five of CN’s rail lines into one seamless system around the city of Chicago, with CN trains now moving twice as fast around Chicago versus the competition. The acquisition of the Wisconsin Central and the Duluth Missabe & Iron Range Railway Company also gave CN one contiguous route connecting the western Canada to Chicago through

Wisconsin and Minnesota.

CN has a significant grain franchise in both Canada and the US. The heart of the CN grain origination network in the US stretches across Midwest through Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin and reaches all the way to the US Gulf. CN also works with other railroads to extend its reach into places like Michigan and Indiana. Bulk grain and processed grain products work its way to the US Gulf by both barge and direct rail, and CN participates extensively in both supply chains. In terms of supporting grain shipments via barge, CN accesses multiple barge-loading facilities along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.

In the New Orleans area, CN connects directly to four grain export facilities capable of receiving and processing unit trains, including Zen-Noh Grain Corporation’s double loop track grain export terminal at Convent LA. CN’s rail line also extends to Mobile AL with access to one additional grain export terminal. CN’s direct rail grain shipment programme to the US Gulf was strong to start 2022 given robust export demand for corn and soybeans. The conflict in Ukraine subsequently resulted in significant shifts in commodity trade flows and caused a spike in demand for grain traffic moved through the US Gulf during late winter and spring 2022. Grain shipment demand softened somewhat in summer 2022 but quickly ramped back up with the onset of the fall harvest, with CN delivering a very strong direct rail shipment program to the Gulf during the fall and early winter. In fact, the 2022 calendar year saw CN achieve record bulk grain unit train shipments to the US Gulf.

Also bustling with activity at the Louisiana Gulf Coast is Convent Marine Terminal (CMT). Besides CMT, CN also moves coal to McDuffie Island Coal

Terminal in Mobile AL. CMT is a double loop track terminal with fast and efficient unloading capabilities and is the only Gulf Coast Bulk terminal with single line access by CN. The terminal handles a myriad of commodities from aggregate, coal, iron ore and petroleum coke. These commodities play a huge part around the globe enabling economic activity, including providing key materials for steel mills in Europe and Asia and fuel for power generation in emerging markets like Africa and India. CN has made investments to handle future growth at CMT with investing in two siding tracks leading into terminal which allows the customer to self-switch and helps keep CN’s busy Gulf coast corridor fluid.

The dramatic expansion in renewable diesel production capacity in the United States is generating significant rail traffic growth for CN in the US Gulf region. In the autumn of 2021, 400 million gallons of new renewable diesel production capacity was brought online by Diamond Green Diesel at Norco, LA. Renewable Energy Group has also broken ground on the expansion of their renewable diesel production facility at Geismar, Louisiana, which will increase annual total site production capacity by 250 million gallons to 340 million gallons. CN’s extensive rail network across Canada and the US supports the transportation of renewable diesel feedstocks such as used cooking oil, animal fat, distillers corn oil, and soybean oil to these facilities and many others.

CN is focused on investment in the US to support future growth. In November 2020, CN marked a significant engineering achievement with the rail cutover to the re-constructed Bonnet Carré-McComb Spillway Bridge near New Orleans. This 2.2-mile-long bridge provides a critical US transportation corridor for both freight and passenger service across the Bonnet

Carré Spillway, which alleviates excess water from the Mississippi River, protecting New Orleans and other communities from flooding. This engineering accomplishment greatly adds to the safety, reliability, and fluidity of CN’s network. The $90 million dollar project involved taking an existing, historic timber bridge built in 1934 and replacing it with an 11,712-foot pre-cast concrete bridge. The new bridge is more durable, enhancing both safety and operational efficiency. In addition, the new bridge is expected to increase network capacity.

CN is also in the process of re-building the Baton Rouge Spillway Bridge. This bridge is the sister to the Bonnet CarréMcComb Spillway Bridge. They both cross the Bonnet Carré Spillway. The CN Baton Rouge Spillway Bridge is next to the flood gates that control the Mississippi River, while the McComb Sub Spillway Bridge is beside Lake Ponchatrain. Both bridges are massive investments and are a testament to CN’s commitment to the Southern Region. CN is well-positioned to support growth in Gulf Coast activity for dry bulk commodities and a variety of other products.

CN has invested billions of dollars to build a network that safely and reliably connects its customers to markets around the world. But these investments do not deliver for customers without the hard work and innovative leadership of railroaders. From CN’s senior leaders to its newest conductors, CN has built a team that is dedicated to running a scheduled railroad that is not only reliable, but has the enhanced capacity through world-class performance to meet the growing demands of the American economy. CN’s people, advanced planning, and neverending commitment to safety is helping CN deliver for its customers.