CALGARY — CN Rail has picked a parcel of land on the outskirts of northeast Calgary to establish a new $100-million CN Calgary Logistics Park.

The rail company says the 680-acre park will include a state-of-the-art intermodal terminal with room for customers to co-locate with CN and custom build their facility in place. The Logistics Park will be designed to include a multi-commodity transload and warehouse facility, an automotive compound, and a liquid/bulk transload and distribution facility.

The site is located a few miles east of the Calgary Airport, not far from the city’s new ring road and other major roadways.

Claude Mongeau, CN president and CEO, called the facility a win-win situation for both CN and its customers.

“This facility is part of our program to grow a network of logistics parks that provide seamless and efficient transportation and distribution capabilities for customers, linking their facilities across North America,” he said.

Calgary is the third largest distribution centre in Canada and is becoming the logistics hub of Western Canada, serving a rapidly expanding market, says CN. The new site provides ample space for current and planned customer initiatives, and the park will be designed to allow easy expansion as the Calgary hub continues to grow.

The new CN Logistics Park will offer the potential for a total warehousing footprint of over two million square feet to customers who need to distribute their goods across western Canada, whether sourced from Asia through the west coast or coming from eastern Canada and the US.

This project will be subject to regulatory approval, including a thorough environmental assessment and public consultation. With a scheduled opening expected in 2013, most of CN’s Calgary yard operations will shift to the new Logistics Park.