K+S Potash takes delivery of 177 custom rail cars
by Canadian Manufacturing.com Staff
The rail cars are enough to complete one of three trains planned to transport K+S product to a potash handling and storage facility in Port Moody, B.C.
BETHUNE, Sask.—K+S Potash Canada has accepted delivery of 177 of 531 custom-built rail cars for its Legacy Project, a potash production facility near Bethune, Sask.
The company says the arrival of the cars shows how close they are to starting production.
K+S officials say the 177 cars are enough to complete one of three trains to transport its product to a potash handling and storage facility in Port Moody, B.C.
The rail cars will travel along 30 km of Canadian Pacific’s recently constructed Belle Plaine subdivision, which connects CP’s main line at Belle Plaine, Sask., to 14 km of newly constructed industrial rail line which is owned and will be operated by K+S.
The rail cars were designed by National Steel Car and feature the latest design for the Legacy Project’s state-of-the-art facility. They can be loaded with product while in motion, and hold the same volume as a regular rail car, while being slightly shorter in length.
According to Steffen Brill, K+S senior manager for logistics and transportation, 531 rail cars will be sufficient to meet initial requirements for weekly transportation to Port Moody, but additional cars will be required as production starts to ramp up later in the year.
“Once the trains arrive at our facility in Port Moody, they will be unloaded by automatic conveyor to our warehouse or directly onto a ship at one of the world’s most modern potash handling facilities,” said Brill. “From there, they’ll be shipped to regions worldwide.”
Part of the rail fleet will also be used to transport product to the U.S.
