Rail News – CN prepares for 2023 grain harvest in Western Canada. For railway professionals

CN is preparing its grain truck fleet for this year’s fall grain harvest. As of mid-July, CN had parked more than 4,100 cars — or more than 36% of its western Canadian grain tanker truck fleet — of which 3,650 were in long-term storage, CN officials said in a news release.

Typically, CN conducts vehicle inspections and repairs between August and early September in preparation for peak grain season demand.

The reliability-based Class I fleet summer maintenance program uses repair data to identify vehicles that have a high likelihood of failure and/or customer rejection (vehicles with defective gates or doors).

CN has also implemented detection technology to identify cars with partially applied handbrakes. Both initiatives help the railroad prioritize repairing grain hopper cars and get the cars back in service quickly, CN officials said.

Well-maintained equipment helps prevent costly breakdowns and delays. However, there are still opportunities for further improvements, CN officials said.