Businessweek

Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates a transcontinental railway in Canada and the United States (U.S.) and provides logistics and supply chain expertise. The company provides rail and intermodal transportation services over a network of approximately 14,400 miles, serving the principal business centers of Canada from Montreal, Quebec, to Vancouver, British Columbia (B.C.), and the U.S. Northeast and Midwest regions. The company’s railway feeds directly into the U.S. heartland from the East and West coasts. Agreements with other carriers extend its market reach east of Montreal in Canada, throughout the U.S. and into Mexico. The company transports bulk commodities, merchandise freight and intermodal traffic. Bulk commodities include grain, coal, sulphur and fertilizers. Merchandise freight consists of finished vehicles and automotive parts, as well as forest and industrial and consumer products. Intermodal traffic consists largely of high-value, time-sensitive retail goods in overseas containers that can be transported by train, ship and truck, and in domestic containers and trailers that can be moved by train and truck. The company owns approximately 10,600 miles of track. An additional 3,800 miles of track are owned jointly, leased or operated under trackage rights. Of the total mileage operated, approximately 6,000 miles are located in western Canada; 2,200 miles in eastern Canada; 5,100 miles in the U.S. Midwest; and 1,100 miles in the U.S. Northeast. Its business is based on funnelling railway traffic from feeder lines and connectors, including secondary and branch lines, onto its high-density mainline railway network. The company extended its network reach by establishing alliances and connections with other major Class I railways in North America, which allows it to provide services and access to markets across North America beyond its own rail network. The company also provides service to markets in Europe and the Pacific Rim through direct access to the Port of Montreal and the Port Metro Vancouver in Vancouver, B.C., respectively. The company’s network accesses the U.S. market directly through three wholly owned subsidiaries: Soo Line Railroad Company (Soo Line), a Class I railway operating in the U.S. Midwest; Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern (DM&E), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Soo Line, which operates in the U.S. Midwest; and the Delaware and Hudson Railway Company, Inc., which operates between eastern Canada and major U.S. Northeast markets, including New York City, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Washington, D.C. Strategy The company is driving change as it moves through its transformational journey to become the best railroad in North America, while creating long-term value for shareholders. The company is focused on providing customers with rail service; driving sustainable, profitable growth; and optimizing its assets. Network and Right-Of-Way The Western Corridor: Vancouver-Thunder Bay The Western Corridor links Vancouver with Thunder Bay, Ontario, which is the western Canadian terminus of the company’s Eastern corridor. With service through Calgary, Alberta the Western Corridor is an important part of the company’s routes between Vancouver and the U.S. Midwest, and between Vancouver and eastern Canada. The Western Corridor provides access to the Port of Thunder Bay, Canada’s primary Great Lakes bulk terminal. Products: The Western Corridor is the company’s primary route for bulk and resource products traffic from western Canada to the Port Metro Vancouver for export. The company also handles significant volumes of international intermodal containers and domestic general merchandise traffic. Feeder Lines: The company supports its Western Corridor with four significant feeder lines: the Coal Route, which links southeastern B.C. coal deposits to the Western Corridor and to coal terminals at the Port Metro Vancouver; the Edmonton-Calgary Route, which provides rail access to Alberta’s Industrial Heartland in addition to the petrochemical facilities in central Alberta; the Pacific CanAm Route, which connects Calgary and Medicine Hat, Al