Canadian Pacific locomotives sit in a rail yard in Montreal in this file photo.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. is shunting aside plans to extend its network into a coal producing region of the western United States.
The Calgary-based company announced Monday it will take a $180-million non-cash charge on its books as a result of a decision to defer the plan indefinitely.
The company says it has made the decision based on a deterioration in the market for thermal coal, which is primarily burned to produce power.
CP acquired the option to build a 420-kilometre extension to serve coal mines in the Powder River Basin, which underlies parts of Montana and Wyoming.
Canadian Pacific acquired the option when it bought the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern railroad in 2007.