BOWDEN, ALBERTA, CANADA — Paterson Grain shipped Canadian Pacific’s (CP) largest grain train from Alberta to Vancouver.

The train, consisting of 167 new high-capacity hopper cars, was loaded at Paterson’s Foothills Terminal in Bowden, Alberta, Canada, and transported 16,313 tonnes of grain to Alliance Grain Terminal (AGT) in Vancouver. 

“Our new third generation grain terminals are amongst the most efficient grain facilities in the world today,” said Andrew Paterson, president and chief executive officer of Paterson Grain. “From the producer to the supplier to the end-use customer, our system can process and ship grain to exceed expectations.”

The train was loaded by Paterson in less than 14 hours, and once released from Paterson’s Foothills Terminal, the train took less than four days to reach AGT, where the cars were unloaded and turned back to the country.

“We celebrate with Paterson the largest ‘Origin Grain unit train’ ever launched” said Keith Creel, president and CEO of CP. “We applaud Paterson’s continued efforts to lead progressively to new levels of production capacity in the grain supply chain.”

In April, CP surpassed its previous monthly grain movement record by transporting 2.8 million tonnes. The Canadian rail company broke the previous record set in November 2019 by 100,000 tonnes. The new monthly record comes shortly after CP shattered its previous first-quarter grain movement record by transporting more than 6.35 million tonnes of grain and grain products in the first quarter of 2020.

Established in 1908 as N.M. Paterson & Company Ltd., Paterson GlobalFoods (PGF) is a private, family owned, agri-food business with a long-standing history deeply rooted in Canadian agriculture. The company operates 36 terminals, elevators and ag centers across the Canadian Prairies.