RAIL YARD CASE STUDY

A Quick Temporary Power Solution Keeps a CN Rail Yard Moving

The saying “time is money” is never more true than for businesses experiencing a power outage. Awhile back, we took a look at the financial hit an organization can take in only 30 minutes without power; in short, there’s a lot to lose.

That’s why, when a collision caused a power outage at a CN Rail yard in Metro Vancouver, waiting for the utility to come back on wasn’t an option — even with an estimated downtime of only 8 hours.

The Client: CN Rail

Transporting more than $250 billion worth of goods every year from across a vast swath of business sectors, CN Rail literally helps keep the Canadian economy moving. For nearly 100 years, the company has been committed to bringing value to their customers and other stakeholders, and today CN Rail is an internationally recognized transportation leader, as well as the only transcontinental railway in North America.

The Situation: An Emergency Power Outage Brings a Rail Yard to a Halt

When a truck collided with a 25 kVA utility pole at a CN rail yard in Surrey, BC, the site needed a temporary solution that would restore power as quickly as possible. BC Hydro had estimated that utility power would be restored within 8 hours, but with a number of refrigerated rail cars at risk of spoiling their goods, the yard needed power restored urgently.

With our 24/7 emergency services, and our team of rapid-response temporary power specialists ready to prepare a fast, effective solution at a moment’s notice, Trinity Power was ready to mobilize the instant the call came in.

Our Approach: Power Broker Model Meant the Right Equipment Was At Our Fingertips

One of things that sets Trinity Power apart is our power broker model. The variety and scope of equipment that we can access for our clients isn’t limited by the brand, or by what we have in the yard. We work with a network of trusted vendors to find the right solution for any situation, as quickly as possible.

CN Rail reached out to us at 10:30 AM and the Trinity team got to work immediately, sourcing over 1500kW of rental power between four generators. By 1:30 PM we had delivered:

• one 1000kW generator
• one 350kW generator
• one 175kW generator and
• camlok cable (to minimize installation time)

From the initial phone call it took just two and a half hours to source, prep and deliver the equipment.

The Result: Minimizing Business Loss

With all the required temporary power equipment on site, critical yard loads were energized nearly four times faster than initially predicted by BC Hydro. Decreasing the downtime a site experiences due to a power outage has a ripple effect of savings, from recouped productivity values to fewer lost man hours. And in this case, the preservation and timely delivery of valuable products and materials.

We delivered the power so that CN Rail could deliver the goods.