CN Railway Debuts Homewood Training Center

CN Railway Tuesday debuted its job training facility in Homewood.

The 55-000-square-foot facility is said to be the first of its kind in the United States. It’s expected that up to 250 CN new employees per week will visit the facility.

Railway CEO Claude Mongeau, Gov. Pat Quinn, U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-2nd), and State Sen. Napoleon Harris (D-Harvey) were all present for the opening of what Mongeau called “a cornerstone facility,” reports Sun-Times Media.

New CN hires and current employees will be sent to the Homewood location for training to become locomotive mechanics, track supervisors, signal maintainers, car mechanics, electricians, heavy duty mechanics, rail traffic controllers, locomotive engineers and conductors. The facility also offers outdoor labs with dedicated rolling stock and other equipment for field training.

Gov. Quinn reflected on the significant role the facility plays in the local workforce.

“If we’re going to have good jobs, we need well-skilled and well-educated workers,” Quinn said. “This is all about jobs. Transportation is vital if we’re going to have solid, middle class jobs to support a family on.”

The training center is located at 17650 S. Ashland Ave. For careers with CN, visit their career page.

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