Canadian National to Spend $245M in Quebec Network Extension

Canadian National Railway Company CNI has been gradually disclosing its capital investment plans for 2019. The company intends to invest approximately $245 million toward fortifying Quebec’s rail network during the current year, while improving safety and services of the company.

Apart from augmenting the company’s capacity and network resiliency, this investment will cater to traffic growth throughout the province. The outlay will also enable smooth transit of agricultural and food products across regions. The capital program involves installation of new rail, railroad ties and maintenance initiatives among other things.

The Quebec capital investment is part of the company’s 2019 capital program, valued at $3.9 billion. The program is focused on driving growth across all commodity groups such as consumer goods, grain, agriculture, forest and energy products, to name a few.

Canadian National Railway Company Price

Canadian National Railway Company Price | Canadian National Railway Company Quote

The Alberta capital investment valued at $370 million and the Manitoba project worth $120 million are Canadian National’s other capital investment plans announced of late. These two investments also form part of the company’s current-year capital program.

Similar to the company’s 2018 capital program, which was valued at C$3.5 billion, capital investment plans for 2019 are anticipated to drive growth.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Canadian National carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Transportation sector are Norfolk Southern Corporation NSC, GATX Corporation GATX and Azul AZUL. While Norfolk Southern and GATX carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), Azul sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Shares of Norfolk Southern, GATX and Azul have gained more than 24%, 6% and 2%, respectively, on a year-to-date basis.

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