OREANDA-NEWS. Claude Mongeau, president and chief executive officer of CN , welcomed news that Maher Terminals Holding Corp. will expand the capacity of the Port of Prince Rupert's Fairview Container Terminal to more than 1.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually, from the current annual container-handling capacity of approximately 850,000 TEUs.

"This investment in terminal expansion to accommodate future growth in overseas container traffic is good news for CN's customers and the Pacific Gateway we serve," Mongeau said.

"Fairview Container Terminal, opened in 2007, has become a major gateway success for trade between Asia, Canada and the U.S. Midwest. This success is testament to the supply chain collaboration and innovation focus of CN, Maher and the Prince Rupert Port Authority. Together we understand what it takes to foster continual improvements in port-terminal-rail efficiencies that help our customers compete more effectively in their end markets. This is a virtuous cycle, setting the stage for future growth, one container at a time.

"CN is proud of its role in Prince Rupert's success. We will continue to invest in rail capacity improvements along our route from northern British Columbia to key markets such as Chicago and Memphis. Our investment in the Kaien long rail siding just outside of Fairview terminal is helping us to accommodate growth in container volumes with greater efficiency. We will also expand our intermodal network and terminal capacity to continue playing our role as true backbone of the economy."

In seven years of operations, traffic through Prince Rupert's Fairview Container Terminal has grown at the fastest pace of any container terminal in North America. In 2014, volume increased 15 per cent over year-earlier volumes, while Fairview continued to post excellent terminal dwell times for containers.

The Fairview Container Terminal expansion project will start in April 2015 and is expected to be finished by mid-2017.

Prince Rupert is the closest major North American port to Asia with direct on-dock access to CN's rail network. Containers are rapidly transferred between vessel and rail, enhancing Prince Rupert's total transit time advantage. The port is also North America's deepest natural harbor and can efficiently handle the world's largest container vessels.

Maher Terminals is an affiliate of Maher Terminals LLC of Elizabeth, N.J.