More tracks, more trade atPortof Vancouver

VANCOUVER — The federal government, CN Rail and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority have signed an agreement allowing CN to twin part of an existing railway track to move more cargo and increase trade through Canada’s busiest port.

CN says the project is part of a longterm strategy to double-track a four-kilometre section of rail that links expanding import and export terminals on the south shore of Burrard Inlet to the company’s national network.

The four-kilometre single-line stretch is part of the line from the waterfront through Strathcona to the Glen work rail yard in the False Creek Flats, then gets funnelled through the Grandview Cut. Most of it is already twin-tracked.

The stretch to be doubled is 4.2 kilometres from Powell Street at the northern, or port end, down to Nanaimo Street.

Two years ago, Canadian National Railway increased traffic on the Burrard Inlet Line to up to six trains a day.

CN says in a news release that the deal would meet the country’s demand for import goods from Asia and grow Canadian exports.

CN Rail president JJ Ruest says the project is a signal to international partners that trade represents an important part of the national economy.

The port authority’s president, Robin Silvester, says over the next decade, a large group of projects, including road and rail infrastructure beyond the port, will help ease the impact of growing trade on local communities.

A timeline for construction and completion of the rail project has not yet been determined.