Big container terminal plan

Photo: The Canadian Press

Canadian National Railway is bidding to acquire a stake in the largest container terminal in Eastern Canada.

The Montreal-based company has confirmed joining a partner to bid for an interest in Halterm, a 30-hectare site at the Port of Halifax, but is declining to provide details.

Halifax is Canada's fourth-busiest port in terms of container traffic, behind Vancouver, Montreal and Prince Rupert in northwestern British Columbia.

CN Rail is the lone railway operator in Halifax.

The Halterm Container Terminal was purchased by New York-based Macquarie Infrastructure Partners for $172.7 million in January 2007.

Industry analyst Walter Spracklin of RBC Capital Markets says the purchase of a minority stake, although not large for CN, would be strategically positive for Canada's largest railway.