CALGARY, Alberta — Genesee & Wyoming Canada will build and operate a rail terminal that will serve a new Gasia Energy Corp. complex in the Alberta Industrial Heartland northeast of Edmonton.
G&W announced today that a new subsidiary, Alberta Heartland Railway, has entered into various agreements with Gasia, including the long-term lease of more than 50 acres at Gasia’s planned energy complex in Strathcona County.
The terminal, which will be sandwiched between Canadian National’s Vegreville Subdivision and Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s Willingdon Subdivision, will serve Gasia and other customers in the Alberta Industrial Heartland.
The Gasia plant and G&W terminal will be adjacent to a cluster of petrochemical and gas processing plants. Once fully built, the terminal will feature multiple loop tracks, including storage for up to 1,200 railcars and railcar-to-truck transloading.
“After launching Red Deer Railway, our first short line in western Canada, late last year and securing a rail switching contract at the Heartland Petrochemical Complex earlier this year, shippers in the Alberta Industrial Heartland are recognizing G&W Canada’s broad logistics expertise and our commitment to safe, reliable and efficient rail service,” Michael Miller, CEO of Genesee & Wyoming Inc., said in a statement. “As the global energy market remains critical for economic growth, Gasia and other shippers can reach customers overseas and throughout Canada and the rest of North America with AHR’s connection to the full North American freight-rail network.”
“Gasia is pleased to be partnering with AHR and to be its anchor tenant for loading bitumen and other products from the Gasia Homestead Diluent Recovery Unit (DRU) Project,” Gasia CEO Samer Salameh said in a statement. “The Homestead DRU will allow Canadian producers to deliver heavy crude throughout North America safely and efficiently using rail, and the AHR loading facility will provide an exceptional opportunity to transload and transport undiluted bitumen (Neatbit™) with access to both CPKC and CN Class I rail systems.”
Construction of both AHR’s terminal and Gasia’s DRU is expected to be carried out in multiple phases, contingent upon the receipt of various approvals.
The proposed terminal and related freight operation would expand G&W Canada’s footprint to include 11 short line railroads spanning more than 1,000 miles across five provinces, independent railcar and locomotive repair operations, and a contract rail services business.
The G&W terminal will be located a few miles east of Cando Rail & Terminal’s Sturgeon Terminal, which is undergoing an expansion that will double its capacity to 7,000 cars.
