British Columbia’s Ashcroft Terminal expansion complete
Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor
Villiage of Ashcroft Mayor Andy Anderson; MP Mark Strahl, Chilliwack–Fraser Canyon; Consul General Johannes Vervloed, Kingdom of the Netherlands; Dr. David Fung, Chairman & CEO ACDEG Group of Companies and member of the Board of Directors of CentrePort Canada Inc.; President & CEO Bob Landucci, Ashcroft Terminal cut a ribbon for the completion of the terminal on May 21.
Transport Canada
Ashcroft Terminal, an inland transloading facility in British Columbia that is a member of the Canadian government's Asian Pacific Corridor, completed an expansion project designed to improve the flow of goods by rail and give local industry a competitive edge in international trade.
The terminal expansion project added a 1,500-meter (.93-mile) enhanced connection to the mainline with additional railcar storage, transload facilities and support tracks. These improvements will help the terminal to more efficiently handle manufacturing, industrial and mining materials and agricultural products. They will also allow shipments to move more quickly through the rail corridor. The project will also provide local producers and shippers with safer and better services, including greater road access to the terminal.
These improvements are expected to help to forge stronger shipping ties between British Columbia’s natural resource sector and the Asia-Pacific region, providing competitive options to shippers from the Ashcroft area. The terminal expansion has served as an important step in helping to diversify the region’s economy in response to the mountain pine beetle infestation, which has put the forestry industry at risk and threatened the stability of the regional economy.
This joint investment of CA$7.15 million (US$ 6.57 million) from the Canadian government and Ashcroft Terminal will provide lasting economic improvements throughout the region. The federal government contributed more than CA$3.57 million (US$3.28 million) from the Mountain Pine Beetle Program within the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Transportation Infrastructure Fund (APGCTIF), while Ashcroft Terminal provided matching funds.
Construction of the Ashcroft Terminal expansion project began in February 2013 and was completed on time and within budget.
Ashcroft Terminal is currently served by Canadian Pacific mainline that feeds into Port Metro Vancouver, a major international trade hub and gateway to Asian markets.
“The expansion project has allowed Ashcroft Terminal to provide an alternative to truck traffic to help reduce congestion and Green House Gases. Ashcroft Terminal is now better able to serve existing and future Canadian shippers and producers from all natural resource sectors, including: mining; forestry; oil and gas; agriculture and manufacturing,”
said Robert Landucci, chief executive officer of Ashcroft Terminal.
