CN breaks ground for new loop track in Minnesota

Canadian National (CN) broke ground on a new loop track in Two Harbors, Minn., the railway posted on social media Aug. 8. With nearly 600,000 cubic yards of soil excavated to make way for operational and supply chain improvements for the railway’s steel customers.

For CN, Minnesota is an important gateway from Canada into the U.S. via Ranier and then south to the port city of Duluth on Lake Superior.

Turning west near Longwood, Wis., CN’s track heads toward Minneapolis–Saint Paul, one of the Top 15 markets in the U.S. Minnesota is home to CN’s iron ore supply chain, which brings taconite pellets from the Minnesota Iron Range mines to the CN docks in Duluth and Two Harbors. There, the pellets are loaded onto Great Lakes ships for transport to the lower Great Lakes.

CN’s major facilities in Minnesota include an intermodal terminal in Duluth, a rail classification yard and railcar/locomotive repair shop in Proctor, a yard near the Two Harbors iron ore dock and the Duluth iron ore dock itself. There is also a yard in Ranier where CN trains cross the U.S.–Canada border.

In 2021, CN opened an automotive compound for finished vehicles in New Richmond, Wis. The facility serves the growing needs of customers in Minneapolis–Saint Paul and the Upper Midwest.