Business

Canada's 2 largest railways moved record amount of grain in April

Canadian National Railway says it shipped 2.72 million tonnes of grain, while Calgary-based rival Canadian Pacific Railway says it moved 2.64 million tonnes.

Both railways have ordered new hopper cars to support increased capacity

A Canadian Pacific Rail train hauling grain passes through Calgary, Thursday, May 1, 2014. Canada's two largest railways say they moved record grain tonnage out of Western Canada in April. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)

Canada's two largest railways say they moved a record amount of grain out of Western Canada in April.

Canadian National Railway says it shipped 2.72 million tonnes of grain, while Calgary-based rival Canadian Pacific Railway says it moved 2.64 million tonnes.

Montreal-based CN says its grain shipments for the month compared with a three-year average of 2.23 million tonnes.

Allen Foster, CN's vice-president of bulk, says the 21.1 million tonnes of grain moved in the first nine months of the crop year was 8.2 per cent or 1.6 million tonnes above the three-year average.

Meanwhile, CP Rail says its April shipments beat the previous monthly high from last October. Train lengths and weights were the best April in the railway's history.

Both railways also say they have ordered new hopper cars to support increased capacity.