The month of November last year marked a milestone in
project cargo movement at the head of the Great Lakes as
crews handled the heaviest Canadian Pacific (CP) direct,
single-line rail move from the Port of Duluth-Superior to
western Canada.
Two, 300-tonne dimensional transformer components arrived
at the Clure Public Marine Terminal in Duluth on Friday 5
November. Both units were manufactured in Germany and
shipped from Rotterdam aboard the BigLift freighter Tracer, along
with multiple crates of accessories. Crews from Lake Superior
Warehousing Co. discharged the high/wide/heavy cargo directly
onto specialized railcars waiting dockside.
One of those specialized cars, a brand new 20-axle railcar
managed by SRT, was just recently introduced into American
service. A train comprised of this car and eight others (including
a 16-axle railcar) left Duluth on 9 November and made its way
along a 1,200-mile CP clearance route northwest to Lethbridge,
Alberta, where the transformer will be installed and eventually
power the Montana Alberta Tie Line — the first international
merchant transmission line in North America.
“When fully operational next year, the 214-mile transmission
line will interconnect the electricity markets of Alberta and
Montana,” said Paul Kos, director of engineering for Montana
Alberta Tie Ltd (MATL), “opening up a huge potential for
development in renewable energy projects in both countries.”
MATL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tonbridge Power, Inc.,
headquartered in Toronto.
“The Port of Duluth factored strategically in this single-line
rail move,” said David Walker, senior manager of CP Logistics
Solutions. Since 2005, CP has handled the majority of wind
energy components inbound to southern Alberta for wind
energy projects in that region. “It’s great to see all of these
projects finally getting connected,” added Walker. “This
transmission line will transform renewable energy into power
for customers on both sides of the border. CP is equally excited
to have brought the two heaviest units through the Port of
Duluth, one of our premier transloading partners.”
CP completed upgrades to bridge infrastructure in
Minneapolis-St. Paul a couple of years ago in order to
accommodate the movement of more oversized/dimensional
cargo through Duluth. “When it comes to
designing an end-to-end transportation
solution,” noted Walker, “utilizing Duluth’s
multimodal facility makes possible a single-line,
cross-border rail haul that creates huge
benefits for our customers.”
“This is a CP-served facility, with on-dock
rail and intermodal transloading capabilities —
the farthest inland port on the Great Lakes St.
Lawrence Seaway,” said Jonathan Lamb, vice
president and general manager of Lake
Superior Warehousing Co., terminal operator
for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority’s Clure
Public Marine Terminal. “Our location enables
us to collaborate with key marine and railway
companies involved in transportation logistics,
not only for a transmission line project like this
but also for renewable energy customers
across the heartland.”
Lamb touted the Port of Duluth’s proven
track record in handling dimensional freight
for a number of energy-related projects,
including nearly a million freight tonnes of
wind turbine components delivered to
projects in several countries including the US
and Canada.
“This move has proven to be a great
example of the innovative collaborations being
forged today,” added Walker, “shared efforts to
provide solutions for the efficient, specialized
transport of high/wide and heavy project cargo
from its point of origin to an installation site
halfway around the world.”