More good news for Hamilton’s National Steel Car.
CP Rail has announced its investing half a billion dollars in new high-capacity grain hopper cars that will be built at the Hamilton plant.
CP says it has an initial order for 1,000 cars from National Steel Car, and over the next four years it plans to order 5,900 hopper cars in total.
The railway says the new car design is shorter, lighter and can carry more grain than the cars being retired from CP’s fleet.
National Steel Car’s CEO, Gregory J. Aziz, said in a statement that the “newly designed and manufactured National Steel Car equipment will provide huge benefits to CP, our economy and the entire grain delivery supply chain.”
“National will have the opportunity to hire and train several hundred additional personnel, who are seeking permanent long-term careers, in a variety of disciplines. Thank you CP for extending, yet again, our 106-year partnership in progress,” Aziz said.
This contract is on top of the two recent deals National Steel Car signed with CN Rail.
CN purchased 1,000 new generation grain hopper cars that will be rolled out over the next two years as older, lower capacity cars get phased out.
The jumbo hopper cars will replace CN’s Western Canadian grain fleet comprised of cars with an average age of more than 30 years.
That contract came hot on the heels of another with CN for 350 centrebeam lumber cars.
National said those purchases would result in 550 additional jobs at the Hamilton facility that currently employees over 1,500.
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