On May 2, Canadian Pacific and K+S Potash Canada (KSPC) celebrated the opening of the Legacy Project mine site. Under the project, 30 km of new rails through a rural area, including a river valley were constructed.
The 30 km route to the mine site was a geotechnical challenge as grading through the valley required the movement of 9.7 million cubic metres of earth. Adding to the scope of the project was the construction of a 137 metre bridge and 70 metre tunnel.
In the end, the rail project featured nearly 50,000 rail ties, 30.4 km of track, 4,500 tonnes of steel (plates, rail, and bolts), 90,000 tonnes of ballast and thousands of hours of work.
According to estimations, the mine will reach a production capacity of 2 million tonnes of potash by the end of 2017.
“KSPC needed to ensure that transport of product from our mine to our port facility would be both secure and competitive,” said Ulrich Lamp, President of KSPC.
Canadian Pacific will primarily use unit trains to ship the potash products to KSPC’s handling and storage facility in Port Moody (British Columbia) then on to overseas market. These unit trains will be approximately 2.4 km, consisting of 177 rail cars and 4 locomotives.
In 2013, Canadian Pacific signed an exclusive, long-term contract with KSPC to deliver its potash products safely and efficiently to international markets.
Share on:
