Canadian Pacific Railway says it is on track to deliver the best results in its 132-year history this year after defying a harsh winter to generate a record first quarter.

CEO Hunter Harrison, who was brought in last year to shake up the country's second-largest railroad, said the performance should silence the critics who predicted such change couldn't happen so quickly.

"I think the most important thing it does is lay a solid foundation for what's to come in the future," he said during a conference call Wednesday.

Harrison was pulled out of retirement from CN (TSX:CNR) after a highly public and hotly contested shareholder revolt against the former leadership.

He later lured Keith Creel from CN to become the Calgary-based railway's president and chief operating officer.

After three months on the job, Creel said the railway achieved its best first-quarter by focusing on asset utilization -- moving more freight with fewer cars.

"There's no secret formulas here, there's no special plays," he told analysts.

Increased quantities of grain and coal were transported despite fewer cars and locomotives.

Grain shipments to Vancouver increased 13 per cent despite 10 per cent fewer cars. The success helps customers and bolsters Canada's reputation as a reliable global supplier, he said.

Coal destined for western export grew 12 per cent.

The railway, which traces its history to 1881, reported $217 million or $1.24 per share of net income in the first quarter. That beat analyst estimates and was up from $142 million or 82 cents per share in the first quarter of 2012, under Harrison's predecessor.

Revenue increased nine per cent to a quarterly record of $1.495 billion, also slightly better than the consensus estimate. A year earlier, Canadian Pacific reported revenue was $1.376 billion.

Analysts had been looking for $1.20 per share of net income, $1.21 per share in adjusted income and $1.491 billion of revenue in the three months ended March 31, according to Thomson Reuters.

The higher revenues were driven increased global demand for potash and growth of transporting crude.

Fertilizer and sulphur volumes increased 23 per cent, while the industrial and consumer products segment was up 36 per cent.

The railway's operating ratio -- a measure of efficiency -- improved to 75.8 per cent, which Canadian Pacific said was a record for the company.

Analyst Walter Spracklin of RBC Capital Markets said the results were solid but likely anticipated by investors because of weekly performance data throughout the winter and the railway's signals about volume growth.

"We don't see any reason for significant outperformance as we consider this result to be broadly in-line with the market's expectations," he wrote in a report.

Analyst Benoit Poirier of Desjardins Capital Markets said he was surprised by the total workforce reductions.

The number of employees, contractors and consultants fell by about 3,400 to 16,108. That's more than the railway's initial forecast for a reduction of 2,300 workers.

The cuts translate into $110 million in annual savings and represent a 1.7 per cent decline in the operating ratio and 46 cents per share increase in earnings, he said.

The railway intends to cut its workforce by at least 4,500 by the end of 2016.