About Us

James Cotnam, owner of Cotnam Transload Services (CTS), is an Ottawa Valley born and raised railroader, who currently lives in Cobden with his wife and young kids. James created CTS to help the industries of the Ottawa Valley expand and grow. James previously worked for Canadian Pacific Railway and is currently employed by the Canadian National Railway. This experience has honed his expertise in railway operations and safety procedures that will inform CTS strategic planning and operations. Mr. Cotnam also possesses additional qualifications including forklift operator, tractor trailer driver, conductor and locomotive engineer, enhancing CTS capacity to source, train and manage skilled staff to deliver on CTS service guarantees.

Railways were dismantled in the Ottawa Valley over 15 years ago. Arnprior remains the end of the line, making it the perfect location to develop a transload site. The industries that once benefitted from and depended on these rails have experienced the impact of lack of rail service. CTS understands your challenges, recognizes the need, and intends to provide a solution. Cotnam Transload Services aims to create a space which offers companies and industries access to rail service resurrecting shipping of products nationally to Western Canada and internationally to the USA.

A single depot location will allow a variety of companies to access the rail industry, reducing shipping costs. Through collaborative industry partnerships, individual businesses become customers of CN or CP rail, which offers access to rail cars. These cars would then be  transported to the CTS yard, transloaded from truck to train and vice versa. Once loaded or unloaded, the cars are transported to CN or conversely, picked up and returned to the business location via truck shipping partnerships. Cars can be held for storage pending transport dates determined by the shipper. Options can be negotiated based on customer requirements, including storage and warehousing.

Cotnam Transload Services Inc. is in the developmental stages and aims to source a site, build tracks and warehouse, and launch operations as soon as possible. CTS is open to communications to discuss how our services will help your business access efficient national and international shipping.