Canadian National Railway Orders 50 Electric Trucks From Lion Electric

Canadian National Railway CNI has ordered 50 electric trucks from Canadian supplier Lion Electric Co. for intermodal operations in its largest urban markets, the companies announced Monday.

The Canadian railway plans to deploy the trucks in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, CN JJ Ruest said during a news conference in Montreal. They will perform urban deliveries, container shuttle service and port operations. 

The trucks will help "reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also noise pollution," Ruest said. "Trucks, let's face it, are a little noisy." 

It also marks the single largest order for Quebec-based Lion Electric. CN has been testing eight of Lion Electric's trucks since launching a pilot project in 2019. 

Lion Electric launched the Lion8 Class-8 electric truck in 2019. The battery-powered Lion8 was designed for urban deliveries, with a range of up to 250 miles on a single charge. 

"It's cool. It's a smart truck. It's quiet. It's smooth," Lion Electric President Marc Bédard told FreightWaves in 2019.

The Lion8 also is designed to endure the harsh Canadian winters. 

The trucks cost around CA$300,000 to $400,000 (US$230,000 to $307,000) apiece depending on the configuration. 

Neither company disclosed the cost of the order. CN announced hundreds of millions of dollars of investments over the summer, some of which will strengthen its intermodal trucking operations.

Click for more FreightWaves articles by Nate Tabak

A little diesel helps Lion8 electric truck conquer the cold

Hurricane Laura hammers Union Pacific tracks near Lake Charles

Files from TFI's Canpar leak after ransomware attack