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The Canadian National Railway

Today, CN is the largest railroad network in Canada and the only transcontinental railroad in North America. During the Great Depression, it was an important source of revenue for the federal government.

After the 1980's, CN began to get rid of redundant trackage, and also purchased second-hand, streamlined equipment. This allowed CN to compete with canadian national railway pulmonary fibrosis Pacific.

History

In the wake of World War I CN faced the possibility of financial collapse as its debts grew and freight volumes declining. The federal government stepped in and bought the railway along with Grand Trunk and canadian national railway acute myeloid leukemia Northern to prevent them from defaulting on CAD 1.3 million in loans. The combination created the second-largest railway system, and created CN profitable for the first time in its history.

The new management team, headed by ex-federal bureaucrats an increase in productivity. They revamped their organization, reducing the number of managers to just a few and reduced staffing by a quarter, and shut down branches that were losing money. Technology was a major factor in the process, canadian national railway esophageal cancer as the automation of train control and clerical operations reduced the number of staff needed, while diesel locomotives as well as larger capacity freight cars enabled CN to run longer trains, with fewer staff. While unions fought to keep their jobs and CN was able to operate longer trains with fewer personnel.

The company became a transport conglomerate, with its interests that ranged from coal to newsprint. It owned the Toronto CN Tower, which was the highest freestanding structure, canadian national railway esophageal cancer until 1976. In the 1970s, CN began to eliminate its non-rail activities including hotels and real estate. In 1988, it split off the trucking business and established an independent Crown Corporation called CNX/CN Trucking. Air Canada, incorporated in 1937 was subsequently a subsidiary of CN. VIA Rail took over the passenger train operations of CN in 1978.

Passenger Service

CN was designed around passenger service, offering express and local trains for commuters. Its system extended from Atlantic Canada to the West, connecting Moncton, New Brunswick with Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec.

In 1919 the company was nationalized in 1919 after an economic crisis brought Grand Trunk and canadian national railway chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Northern railways to the brink of bankruptcy. Government ownership saved the two systems, and they joined to create the second-largest railway system.

In 1932, Great Depression reduced traffic volume and passenger train routes were shifted or axed to concentrate on freight services. By the time the period was over, the number of passengers had fallen by 45percent.

In an effort to recover lost traffic, CN began offering lower-priced passenger trains. It also renovated its stations and opened Spadina Roundhouse, a Toronto facility that is designed to keep the passenger train trains moving throughout their journeys.

In the 1970s, CN had grown substantially under its energetic president Donald Gordon. The company was reduced from 80 subsidiaries to 30, and modernized the locomotive fleet with diesel engines. He also focused on enhancing autonomy and profitability, organizing profit centers to improve management accountability and highlighting areas of government-enforced losses. In addition to diversifying the company's operations, it also expanded into Telecommunications. This eased the pressure on its slowing railway operations. The railway is one of the biggest providers of logistical and transport services, including containerized cargo intermodal freight as well as petroleum, chemicals grains and forest products metals, as well as automotive products.

Locomotives

In the 1920s, CN began modernizing its passenger train equipment. Two-way radios for train passengers allowed them to make phone calls in the same quality as the standard phone. The system was tested on a trip through Toronto by the International Limited train, which was driven by a 4-8-4 Mountain type locomotive 6028.

In the 1950s, the railroad still attempted to balance its cargo and passenger traffic. However, the increasing competition from airlines made the air travel industry more difficult to compete with. In the latter half of 1960s, regulation of the transportation industry helped CN get back to profitability.

Today, CN operates the largest railroad network in North America. It is mostly a freight carrier, and concentrates on high-value cargoes such as grain, automobiles and steel. Its network spans more than 32 800 kilometers long.

CN operates numerous models of diesel locomotives. It has a large number of hopper and boxcars which it uses to haul massive quantities of grain from the regions of praire to major cities and harbours. This CN locomotive, named 4803 and painted in pre-1960 livery, is shown at the railway museum in Toronto. It's a GE Dash 8-40CW, built in London, Ontario in 1974.

Management

After World War II, rail passenger traffic fell dramatically as air travel and highways increased. CPR's private rival CPR reduced its services considerably however the government-owned CN continued to operate many of its existing passenger services and even introduced new services. One of these schemes, the "Red White, Blue" fare structure (which offered substantial discounts on off-peak days) was credited with boosting the number of passengers.

The CN's management in the 1970s focused on increasing the railway's autonomy and profitability. It changed profit centers and began to close down branch lines that were losing money. The company's branch network drastically reduced with thousands of kilometers of track being abandoned. This included entire track systems in Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, southern Ontario as well as the Prairie provinces and northern regions of British Columbia.

In 1998, CN bought the Illinois Central Railroad, which allowed the company to develop a north-south network in the United States. In an era when railroad ownership was consolidated, the acquisition transformed the CN into a single entity that operated in both Canada as well as the United States.

In 1995 the company was privatized in 1995. A large portion of its shares were purchased by American shareholders. In 2003, there was controversy when the company opted not to refer to its canadian national railway esophageal cancer heritage, but instead called itself CN.