Westlock Terminals accepted its first wheat shipment by rail
A rail shipment of wheat in Alberta marked a significant milestone.
Battle River Railway (BRR), a farmer-owned shortline railway, and CN, worked together to bring five cars of wheat to Westlock Terminals – its first ever wheat shipment by rail – from Battle River’s elevator in Rosalind.
The parties, which include the Port of Westlock, owners of Westlock Terminals, reached the agreement on Oct. 29. The shipment arrived the following day.
The distance between the elevators is roughly 270km and is about a three-hour drive.
BRR operates an 83km stretch of track from Alliance to Camrose, where it then interchanges with CN. CN previously owned that section of track before BRR purchased it in 2010.
Westlock previously trucked in its wheat.
The organization would’ve needed 11 trucks to transport the same volume of grain as the five rail cars.
Westlock decided to explore rail as an alternative.
“They went to CN for a rate and got one that was competitive with trucking. It was in the ballpark,” Matthew Enright, general manager of BRR, told Progressive Railroading.
For Westlock, this move represents additional opportunities for Alberta grain.
“What that gives us is the ability to blend and continuation of shipping. If we don't have that specific product in our local area, what are you going to do? Tell your customers to see you later, we'll see you next year kind of a deal,” Clifford Bell, CEO of Westlock Terminals, told Town and Country Today on Nov. 5. “You've got to keep feeding that pipeline. We want to make sure that we're pricing our products competitively so we can get them out to the world stage.”