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PETROLEUM DIRECTORY: Right on track — CN Aquatrain celebrates 40 years Using a little innovative thinking and the shortest water route to Alaska, the Aquatrain moves freight to new frontiers Mara Severin PNA Contributing Writer
In the late 1950s, CN’s senior management decided to forge a link between Canada and Alaska with a dream of moving rail cars via barge, across the Gulf of Alaska. On May 3, 1962, while U.S. President John F. Kennedy was dreaming about putting a man on the moon, a barge departed Prince Rupert with 10 rail cars headed to Whittier, 840 miles across the Gulf of Alaska.
The first sailing consisted of a wooden “mickey tug” and the barge “ABC-20” — a converted landing ship tank that had survived the battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. The tug and barge was provided by Alaska British Columbia Transportation Co., a joint venture between Crowley Maritime and Straights Towing.
The tug-barge, now called CN Aquatrain, arrived in Whittier on May 18, 1962, and by docking at the rail slip, linked the Alaska Railroad with CN and the North American rail system. The first rail car pulled off the barge was a carload of steel from Bethlehem, Pa. This rail connection marked a great day for Alaska and the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship between CN Aquatrain and the Alaska Railroad.
The first barge, “ABC-20,” gave way to the “Griffson” which was built in the late 1960s in Portland, and then to the world’s largest barge, “Aquatrain” which was built in 1982. The tug-barge is owned by Foss Maritime of Seattle, Wash.
“It’s the world’s largest rail car barge chartered by North America’s largest railroad,” says Laurie Gray, CN’s Alaska agent for CN Aquatrain.
Push me Pull me — a unique partnership This year, CN celebrates its 40th anniversary of service to and partnership with the state of Alaska. “By linking North America’s rail system with the Alaska Railroad, we’ve developed a partnership with the Alaska community that has endured now for forty years,” says Gray.
Here’s how the cooperative service works. A barge is loaded with rail cars at the dock in Prince Rupert where, in 1996, CN Aquatrain installed a $1 million rail slip. The barge is then pulled by tugboat to Whittier where the cars are interchanged to the Alaska Railroad and then moved to Anchorage or Fairbanks. Each year, an impressive 1,400 cars are transported north.
The tug-barge is staffed by a six man crew and makes the 840-mile trip from Prince Rupert to Whittier in four days. “The Prince Rupert to Whittier route is the shortest water link connected by the railways,” explains Gray. “The water journey from Prince Rupert is 840 miles versus a journey of 1,400 miles from Seattle.” This makes CN Aquatrain and efficient and timely means of transporting freight in and out of the state.
From lumber to flour, Aquatrain delivers For the past 40 years, CN Aquatrain has delivered the goods — methanol; potash; glycol; flour; building products such as cement, lumber and oriented strand board; grain; formaldehyde; and other products that help keep the Alaska economy on the go. Particularly, those needed by the state’s mining, oil and construction industries.
“We bring up a tremendous amount of chemicals for use by both BP and Phillips at the North Slope,” says Gray. Other major sources of freight are bulk commodities such as salt and potash for mining and drilling companies in the North.
The building supply industry also is well-served by CN Aquatrain. “We bring in a large amount of lumber and oriented strand board for companies such as Spenard Builders Supply and Homesteaders.”
Joanne Crockett of Spenard Builders Supply is a satisfied customer of the Aquatrain and says that the barge service fills a niche that long went unserved. “It fills a very specific need,” she said. “We have a certain type of product which is ideally suited for rail. The source of this product is Canada, so the Aquatrain is a very nice match.”
Service, safety, and simplicity CN was privatized in 1995 and recent mergers with the Illinois Central and Wisconsin Central have resulted in North America’s largest railroad. With each car heading for Alaska given a “trip plan,” the service level has improved dramatically. This has allowed CN Aquatrain to make a maximum of 32 trips annually and they have a backup barge that can be mobilized within a week, if necessary.
These elements combine to allow CN Aquatrain to boast a large percentage of satisfied repeat customers. While there are many reasons for their excellent track record, Gray sums it up neatly: “Our customers have come to rely on CN Aquatrain for excellent customer service, competitive rates and safe transport.”
CN Aquatrain’s freight experts work closely with every customer to ensure that every requirement is met with as much flexibility as possible. It is a team effort which ensures that a customer’s freight gets to its destination efficiently and reliably along with being cost-effective.
Good service also means simplicity for the customer. A single phone call or fax, along with a bill of lading is all it takes to get freight on its way into or out of Alaska. Simplicity allows more companies to expand their reach and to move into new markets.
Exceptionally safe transport for freight is another benefit of using the barge service. Because the rail cars themselves are moved, the loads they contain are never touched. No in-transit handling means no damage and no loss of freight.
This formula must work. According to Gray, “The barge is full now and we plan to keep it that way.”
Go with the flow: Aquatrain confidently looks to the future Management at CN Aquatrain sees the company’s growth mirroring the growth of Alaska industry. Currently, all eyes are fixed on the possible development of a natural gas pipeline. “There will be more barges if there’s a gas line,” says Gray. “If that develops, we’re going to be ecstatic.”
Will the Aquatrain be overwhelmed by such an escalation in demand? Not in the least, says Gray. “CN Aquatrain is currently here to provide safe, reliable, consistent service to its customers and we will continue to do so regardless of business and traffic flux.”
Our daily bread Meanwhile, CN continues to affect the lives of thousands of Alaskans in ways both big and small. For many, the Aquatrain’s impact, quite literally, hits close to home: many of the houses, apartments and duplexes built in the state are made from materials shipped in by the Aquatrain.
And the small ways? Look no farther than your kitchen table. “On a regular basis, we bring in bulk flour for Alaska’s largest bakery,” says Gray. “We brought in the flour for almost every loaf of bread that’s baked in Alaska.”
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