Dedicated heavy gauge rail lines that provides coal freight services are located less then 3km from the Projects boundaries and are owned by CN, the preeminent and one of the largest rail providers in North America. This rail line has the ability to haul upwards of 175 car unit trains (each with the ability of hauling over 100 tonnes of coal) from Vista to the key Western Canadian coal ports of Ridley Island Coal Terminals, Westshore Terminals and Neptune Terminals.
Coalspur executed an MOU with CN Rail which outlines the transportation of coal from Vista to deepwater ports on Canada’s west coast. The MOU establishes the framework for an agreement that will accommodate Coalspur’s plan to commence coal production in 2015 at a rate of approximately 2.3Mtpa before rising to 11.2 Mtpa in 2018.
CN Rail will transport the coal to Ridley Terminals in Prince Rupert, British Columbia which is approximately 1,200km from the mine site. The return cycle time for CN Rail from Vista to Ridley Terminals is approximately 5 days.
Coalspur will plans to negotiate a definitive transportation agreement with CN Rail to secure the required capacity to transport all of the production from Vista to international markets in 2012.