The two sides in the battle to transform Canadian Pacific Railway will hold rival investor meetings this month as activist William Ackman seeks support for his plan for new management, and the company touts its own investment plan.

CP's Chief Executive Fred Green announced his tour in a letter to employees posted on the company's website.

"Starting this week, members of our board and management team are going on the road to meet with investors and discuss the significant progress we made against our Multi-Year Plan," wrote Green.

That plan is meant to improve CP's worst-in-class operating ratio, a key metric that measures a railway's efficiency.

Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management has separately invited investors to "CP Rising," a meeting to be held in Toronto next Monday, Feb. 6.

There Pershing, which holds a 14.2 percent stake in Canada's No. 2 railway, will make its case for replacing Green with Hunter Harrison, best known for engineering a turnaround at rival Canadian National Railway.

The fund wants shareholders to vote its five nominees on to the board at CP's May 17 annual meeting. The nominees are Ackman, Pershing partner Paul Hilal, management consultant Gary Colter, energy industry executive Rebecca MacDonald and former Onex Corp executive Anthony Melman. (Reuters)