Canadian Pacific employees move the Olympic Spirit

KAMLOOPS, BC, Oct. 23 /CNW/ - Canadian Pacific today launched its Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games employee activation in Canada's Tournament Capital. CP is the Official Rail Freight Services Provider to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

"Canadian Pacific employees are uniquely qualified to move the Olympic Spirit," said Fred Green , Canadian Pacific President and CEO. "The Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games provide us an international platform to showcase our abilities as North America's safest, and most reliable railroad."

Almost 5,000 employees from across North America have signed their names to a specially designed 53-foot intermodal container, the CP Spirit Train Wall of Fame. Unveiled at today's event, the container will tour CP facilities across western Canada before moving to Vancouver in February 2010 . The design showcases CP sponsored sports teams and incorporates the names of employees into notable terrain and architectural structures across the railway's network, including the Rocky Mountains and Lethbridge's High Level Bridge. A virtual version of the CP Spirit Train Wall of Fame, with a searchable name function, can be seen online at www.cpr.ca.

Employees who signed their name to the CP Spirit Train Wall of Fame were automatically entered in an internal contest to win an all expenses-paid trip to the 2010 Winter Games for four. Tennile Haug, a clerk at Canadian Pacific's Crew Management Center, was announced today as the winner.

"Thank you CP! I can't wait to share this Olympic experience in my own country with my friends and family," said Ms. Haug .

Another 47 Canadian Pacific employees will also experience the 2010 Winter Games as volunteers. These employees were chosen through a rigorous internal selection process in which they detailed their involvement in the areas of community, sport and sustainability; the three pillars of the Olympic Movement. CP will pay expenses for those employees during their 2010 Winter Games experience.

"I'll be working at the Richmond Olympic Oval during Games time with the full support of my company," said CP project manager Dan McGavock. "What a wonderful way for CP to recognize the volunteering we do in our communities year round."

Hundreds of Canadian Pacific employees in Metro Vancouver and at CP's Network Management Centre will ensure freight trains and additional West Coast Express commuter trains run safely and reliably during the 2010 Winter Games. The Canadian Pacific Police Service is also supporting the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit.

Canadian Pacific employees have been working for months to coordinate and move construction and staging material needed for February. Tents, scaffolding, fencing, paint, scoreboards, ticket kiosks, hockey nets and bleachers are on their way to Vancouver from across North America and around the world. CP ensures these unique shipments arrive safely and reliably.

Visible across Canada , 20 Canadian Pacific locomotives sporting the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games Emblem continuously represent CP's commitment to Canada's Games. They are part of a fleet of more than 200 fuel efficient GE Evolution Series locomotives, which are among the industry's most efficient and environmentally conscious, meeting stringent U.S. EPA Tier II emission standards.

Canadian Pacific has supported Canadian Olympians since 1924, when Canada's gold medal winning hockey team returned from France on a Canadian Pacific steamship. CP was also an official supporter of the Montreal 1976 Olympic Summer Games and the Calgary 1988 Olympic Winter Games.

Backgrounders on CP's Olympic Activation are available online at www.cpr.ca

About Canadian Pacific:

Canadian Pacific, through the ingenuity of its employees located across Canada and in the United States , remains committed to being the safest, most fluid railway in North America . Our people are the key to delivering innovative transportation solutions to our customers and to ensuring the safe operation of our trains through the more than 1,100 communities where we operate. Come and visit us at www.cpr.ca to see how we can put our ingenuity to work for you. Canadian Pacific is proud to be the official rail freight services provider for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

For further information: Media Contact: Mike LoVecchio, Senior Manager, Media Relations, Canadian Pacific, [phone] cell, [phone] 24/7 media pager