CN Railway moved 7.94 million metric tonnes of grain from Western Canada in its third quarter, setting a new company record and surpassing the previous high of 7.48 MMT from 2020.
The railway company (TSX: CNR, NYSE: CNI) announced the results Monday, attributing the performance to strong customer demand and coordination across the grain supply chain. CN said it plans to maintain this pace through winter while delivering safe and reliable service to producers and grain companies.
The record comes as CN released its 2026-2027 Winter Plan, detailing how North America’s most northerly Class I railway prepares for severe weather conditions. The plan focuses on maintaining network operations, improving equipment reliability and positioning personnel to respond quickly to weather disruptions.
“Winter readiness is built into how we run the railway all year,” said Tracy Robinson, president and CEO. “We prepare our people, equipment and network well before winter arrives so that when conditions change, we can respond quickly, protect network fluidity and keep delivering safely and reliably for our customers.”
CN is spending approximately $64 million on its distributed air braking technology, which includes replacing 21 engines and compressors and making fleet-wide modifications to improve performance in extreme cold. The company operates more than 100 of these specialized cars.
The railway is also advancing high-flow brake system technology that uses multiple air sources along trains to maintain stable brake pressure when air leakage increases in cold weather. CN is seeking permanent regulatory approval in Canada after years of testing, and currently operates under a two-year U.S. regulatory waiver for higher airflow between Chicago and Winnipeg.
CN will deploy rapid response teams, rules-qualified managers and temporarily reassign qualified employees to handle severe weather. The company stages mechanical and engineering resources, snow-clearing equipment, backup power and locomotives at strategic locations before winter arrives.
The winter plan stresses the need for collaboration across the supply chain, including accurate customer forecasts and coordination at terminals and ports to keep freight moving when cold weather reduces capacity.
