Tourism Winnipeg

YES! WINNIPEG 15 When a single empty railcar weighs between 20 and 40 tons, it's easy to appreciate the vital role safety plays at CN. For an iconic company responsible for leading and changing the way goods and services have been delivered across Canada and mid-America for almost 100 years, safety starts with the right training. That's why CN opened two state-of-the-art employee-training centres in 2014—one in Winnipeg for its Canadian employees and a second in Chicago for its U.S. employees. Since then, the CN Claude Mongeau National Training Centre in Winnipeg has focused on providing consistent, quality training for jobs ranging from conductor to track maintainer and from car mechanic to supervisor. Employees receive hands-on training in learning laboratories equipped with locomotive, crane, and signals and communication simulators. Outdoor labs with dedicated rolling stock and other equipment for field training are also a unique component of the facility. "Every railcar that gets moved, every brake that gets applied and every container that gets loaded can have an impact," said Dave Radford, CN's director of operations, training and development. "The training centres are fundamental in advancing CN's goal to become the safest railway in North America." The local training centre is a new component in the major transportation hub CN has created in Manitoba. Employing more than 2,000 people across the province, the company maintains extensive and modern marshalling yards. Its major service facilities, including Symington Yards, can handle over 3,000 cars in a day. Intermodal terminals in Winnipeg, where both trailers and containers are transferred between rail and road modes, are a major part of the business. The city is also home to Transcona Shops, the company's main Canadian railcar and locomotive repair facility. CN delivers more than $123 million in capital investments in Manitoba, with the training centre being an important contributor to Winnipeg's economy. "We transport more than $250 billion worth of goods annually across a rail network of approximately 20,000 route-miles," said Radford. "It's essential that we contribute and invest in the communities in which we live and work." Since the training campuses opened, more than 12,000 CN employees have received training in Winnipeg alone. And through the CN Campus Partnership Program, more than 200 representatives of CN customers have taken courses in basic rail safety and the requirements of safe operations. CANADIAN NATIONAL R AILWAY CN's National Training Centre on Track for Safety Trevor Hagan / Alpha Presse Trevor Hagan / Alpha Presse

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