All Canadian mines shipping through Westshore are at least 1,100 kilometres from the terminal, while those in the US are up to 2,500km from tidewater.
Three major railways service the terminal:
- Canadian Pacific Railway hauls about 65% of all coal handled.
- Canadian National brings coal from Albertan mines.
- Burlington Northern-Santa Fe handles coal from US mines.
The Canadian coal haul covers rugged, mountainous terrain such as the Rocky Mountains and faces extreme weather conditions at times, but is rarely unable to deliver to port.
Coal is transported in unit trains, each about 125 cars long and carrying around 13,000 tonnes. CP Rail has about 24 unit coal trains in continuous service depending on
demand. Today’s coal car fleet is largely the US-style aluminum rolling stock. Westshore also has the capacity to handle the older Canadian-style steel coal cars, which are
heavier and longer, but are gradually being phased out of use.
