Ports and rail push toward greener initiatives

Sustainability is about more than simply adhering to government regulations imposed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – it’s about streamlining the supply chain by saving time, energy and costs; in other words, it’s about efficiency.

Ports across the country have set carbon emissions reduction targets in an effort to improve overall efficiency when transporting goods inland from the port, and for the Prince Rupert Port Authority, that goal is to become carbon neutral by 2050.

“To achieve this, we are leading programs and investments that harness innovative new technologies and collaborating with port partners to meet common objectives,” said Katherine Bamford, vice-president of business development at the Prince Rupert Port Authority.

One initiative launched as part of the port’s sustainability strategy was a renewable diesel program in 2024 with the goal of transitioning Gateway partners away from petroleum diesel to a low-emissions alternative.

“We worked directly with a Canadian supplier to secure a consistent supply of the drop-in fuel for use across various applications,” said Bamford. “In the first year, 13 different Gateway partners took part, consuming 1.2 million litres of the renewable drop-in fuel product for a wide range of uses, including on-dock equipment, locomotives, tugs and transport trucks.”

The Port of Prince Rupert is also testing the use of zero- and low-emissions heavy-duty trucks through a partnership with Innovate B.C.’s Integrated Marketplace and Prince Rupert-based Gat Leedm Logistics.

“We are actively testing two hydrogen-powered, one battery-electric and one hydrogen-diesel co-combustion truck on existing operational routes,” said Bamford, adding that the project will run until the end of 2026. “These tests will provide data to better understand the range, reliability and potential best use case for the vehicles not only at our port, but across industrial sectors throughout the province.”

There is also a financial incentive to commercial vessel owners who voluntarily invest in environmentally sustainable practices, measures and technologies through the port authority’s Green Wave Program.

“Companies receive discounted harbour dues based on their greenhouse gas emissions and underwater noise performance,” said Bamford. “We’ve seen significant uptake of this program and in 2024, 54 per cent of all commercial vessel calls at the Port of Prince Rupert qualified for the Green Wave Program.”

Given its location, the port recognizes the efficiency benefits of moving goods by rail into Central Canada and the U.S. Midwest.

“On top of being the closest North American port to Asia, with deep, wide, direct approaches, and offering shorter pilotage times than other Pacific Northwest gateways, our customers also benefit from the CN main line’s lower-gradient route over the Rockies,” explained Bamford. “A rail car from Prince Rupert takes four days to reach Chicago, saving a day of travel time over other major West Coast ports.”

In an effort to increase the efficiency of its operations, CN has set several ambitious sustainability goals of its own, including aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050.

At the end of last year, CN achieved 27 per cent progress towards its 2030 goal for Scope 1 and 2 targets of reducing GHG emissions by 43 per cent compared to 2019 levels. The company also saw 44 per cent progress on its Scope 3 GHG reduction goal for fuel- and energy-related activities of 40 per cent by 2030, and 21 per cent progress toward its net-zero ambition.

CN focuses on five strategic areas to improve rail efficiency and reduce carbon emissions: fleet renewal, innovative technology, big data, operating practices and cleaner fuels.

In order to achieve its net-zero emissions goal by 2050, Ashley Michnowski, senior manager of media relations at CN, said the company will need to continue improving the fuel efficiency of its fleets, increase its use of renewable fuels and test and eventually deploy alternative propulsion locomotive technologies.

“Our position in the supply chain enables us to lead change towards decarbonizing North America’s transportation sector by leveraging and stimulating the development of low-carbon fuels and technologies,” she said. “The increased usage of biodiesel and renewable diesel between now and 2030 is the key strategic enabler for meeting our 2030 target.

“Trials and qualifications of up to 100 per cent renewable fuel blends continued to progress in 2024. Carried out in partnership with locomotive manufacturers, fuel producers and other Class 1 railroads, CN expects these trials will allow CN and the industry to better understand the long-term durability and operational impacts of renewable fuels on locomotives, especially in cold weather, and plan needed modifications to leverage their increased usage over the next decade.”

Last year, 10 per cent of the fuel used in CN locomotives was renewable. The company also purchased its first 100 per cent battery heavy-haul locomotive in 2021 and will receive its first battery-electric freight locomotive next year.

“To reduce the environmental impact of our operations, we also have a goal to have 95 per cent of our waste diverted from landfill annually and a goal to plant three million trees across our network by 2030,” said Michnowski. “As of the end of 2024, we met our waste diversion goal and realized 87 per cent progress toward our tree-planting goal.”

Michnowski said in order for CN to meet the sustainability targets it has established, the company recognizes the importance of improving its rail efficiency.

“CN has been continuously investing in initiatives and programs that decarbonize our activities and provide other benefits such as improved capacity and service to our customers,” she said. “CN has also been investing in its intermodal facilities, which support a modal shift towards rail shipping.”

One such investment, which aims to increase container traffic and bulk-liquid volumes for the new Ridley Island Energy Export Facility at the Port of Prince Rupert, is the Zanardi Rapids Bridge expansion project.

“This new infrastructure is critical to enabling the port’s expansion and is designed to add significant capacity along a critical rail link, extending several miles of track in both directions and connecting the new 1,600-foot three-track bridge to meet growing demand,” said Bamford.

The bridge expansion also builds on the 2022 opening of the Fairview-Ridley Connector Corridor, which created a closed-loop system of road and rail connecting transloading and marine operations at the port.

“This significantly reduced driving distances for daily port operations and removed port-related truck traffic from public roads in the city of Prince Rupert, reducing overall commercial vehicle emissions up to 75 per cent,” said Bamford.

Overall at the Port of Prince Rupert, $3 billion is being invested through numerous projects to help grow and diversify trade, including building a fully contained, integrated intermodal ecosystem that maximizes existing land and shifts traffic away from public roadways.

The CANXPORT project is another key initiative. A large-scale transloading and logistics facility, CANXPORT is currently under construction and once completed will provide an annual throughput of 400,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) for agricultural, forestry and resin products.

“The facility will be operated by Ray-Mont Logistics and includes nearly 29 kilometres of new track, accommodating 4.5 full-length unit trains per day,” said Bamford. “Their transloading operations will begin in mid-2026 and ramp up in early 2027, delivering agility for Canadian exporters while also enhancing Prince Rupert’s export match-back rate, improving the balance, resiliency and stability of trade at the port.”

The port is also constructing the South Kaien Logistics Park, with Phase 1 of the project featuring a 100-door cross-dock facility and offering shippers new flexibility for their cargo.

On the right track

Rail companies have been working collaboratively through the Association of American Railroads and the Railway Association of Canada to improve overall sustainability. CN is also chairing the Decarbonization Working Group, has become a member of Clean Fuels Alliance America and was a founding member of the North Pacific Green Corridor Consortium, whose members and partners are working to decarbonize the value chain for commodities between North America and Asia.

For services between Canada, the U.S. Midwest and Mexico, CN has partnered with Union Pacific and Grupo Mexico Transportes to offer faster service between the three regions using rail only, eliminating the need for trucking, which it says helps reduce GHG emissions.

“Shipping heavy freight by rail can reduce GHG emissions by up to 75 per cent when compared to trucks,” said Michnowski. “The greater use of combined transportation modes helps lower emissions by allowing each mode to be used for the portion of the trip to which it is best suited. It also helps reduce road traffic congestion, accidents and the burden on public transportation infrastructure.”

“The greater use of combined transportation modes helps lower emissions by allowing each mode to be used for the portion of the trip to which it is best suited.”

– Ashley Michnowski, senior manager of media relations at CN

Transparency is another area CN has aimed to improve, launching the Carbon Calculator 13 years ago to give customers visibility into their estimated GHG emissions savings when using rail.

“These insights into the environmental benefits of shipping via CN’s transcontinental network empower customers to make data-driven decisions that support their climate objectives,” said Michnowski.

Port positivity

In addition to the collaborative efforts with rail and efforts to encourage the use of green initiatives, the Prince Rupert Port Authority is a founding member of the North Pacific Green Corridor Consortium, established in 2024 to help decarbonize the transportation infrastructure for commodities shipped between Canada, Japan and South Korea.

“It brings together a group of stakeholders from diverse sections of the value chain including bulk commodity producers, railways and transportation providers, marine vessel owners and operators, port facilities, port authorities and technology providers,” said Bamford.

The port authority also signed the Global Memorandum of Understanding on Multi-Port Multi-Jurisdiction Green Shipping Corridors at COP28 in Dubai to establish the West Coast Green Shipping Corridor.

“The corridor will connect Edmonton and Prince Rupert to ports in Asia and the Middle East,” said Bamford. “Signatories are committed to collaborating on accelerating electrification, increasing the availability of alternative fuels and refuelling infrastructure and proactively integrating other elements of sustainability such as waste management and marine mammal protection.”

Provincial governments are also helping to drive greener transportation systems, with the B.C. government supporting the port authority in leading the Northern B.C. Supply Chain Forum, a working group of key stakeholders and communities along the transportation corridors on Highways 16, 97 and 37, as well as the CN main line. And the Alberta government is providing financial support for the Prince Rupert Port Authority to co-ordinate the Alberta Industrial Heartland to Prince Rupert Economic Corridor Forum.

“This project focuses on the highway and railway corridor between the Industrial Heartland and Prince Rupert, recognizing the Port of Prince Rupert’s importance for the export of Alberta products,” said Bamford. “The goal is to enable greater tidewater access for a range of energy, forestry and agricultural products, to diversify and grow Alberta’s trade.”