Canadian National Railway (CN) has announced a $165mn investment to strengthen the rail infrastructure in Illinois, United States to strengthen supply chains in the region.
Illinois is a key state for the metal and scrap metal industry, with Chicago acting as the main hub for much of the distribution of materials across North America. The rail provider said in an announcement on Tuesday that its current investment plan will support the growth in this area by improving the supply chain to both markets and consumers on this critical route.
The investment will fund the replacement of nine miles of railway and rebuilding of 45 road crossing surfaces. It will also include maintenance work on bridges, culverts, signal systems, and other railway infrastructure and installation of more than 180,000 new railroad ties. Apart from these upgrades, the investment will also look to create greater capacity.
Moreover, CN added that bolstering the region’s rail infrastructure will help companies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions since the use of rail rather than road to freight material is reported to reduce GHG emissions by 75pc.