CP announces 2012 infrastructure investments

CALGARY: Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd is increasing its network capacity.

The growth is part of the company’s 2012 capital plan. CP says it will invest between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion this year.

According to CP, the money is to be spent in the following manner:

• $800 million to preserve existing capacities through replacement or renewal of depleted assets
• $275 million for network capacity expansions, business development projects and productivity initiatives
• $50 million to address capital regulated by governments, principally train control

CP president and CEO Fred Green issued a statement about the planned expenditures. He said the goal is to “to further improve service reliability, asset velocity, and operational efficiency, while expanding capacity to safely and efficiently support higher volumes.”

The plan represents a slight increase in total expenditures from the 2011 capital plan.

Last year CP planned to spend between $950 million and $1.05 billion. That plan allocated $680 million for basic track infrastructure renewal and $200 million for volume growth, productivity initiatives and network enhancements. It also earmarked $80 million for upgrades to IT systems. Only $40 million was designated to address capital regulated by governments, principally train control.