Canadian National To Invest $370M In Alberta Rail Network

Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI) recently announced an investment plan worth $370 million for 2019 to expand and fortify its rail network across the province of Alberta.

This investment will aim at augmenting the capacity and network resiliency while catering to growing traffic throughout the province. To this end, the company will construct a double track across several regions of Alberta. Additionally, it will build tracks at Scotford Yard northeast of Edmonton. Apart from network extension, the program will involve maintenance and replacement (of rail) initiatives.

The Alberta capital investment is part of the company’s 2019 capital program valued at $3.9 billion. The program is focused on driving growth across all commodity groups, such as consumer goods, grain, agriculture, forest and energy products to name a few.

We remind investors that the company’s 2018 capital program was valued at C$3.5 billion. The company claims to have been able to “take on more traffic from different commodity sectors” following last year’s capital program.

Completion of TransX Buyout

Canadian National closed its previously announced transaction to purchase Winnipeg-based The TransX Group of Companies. This buyout enables the company to bolster its supply chain and intermodal businesses across North America. Terms of the agreement were kept undisclosed.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Canadian National carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Transportation sector are Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE:NSC) , Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE:UNP) and Azul (NYSE:AZUL) . While Azul sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Shares of Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific have rallied more than 30% and 20%, respectively, in a year. Meanwhile, the Azul stock has soared more than 71% in the past six months.

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