CN, in partnership with Suncor, OPTI Canada and Nexen, steps in to save critical rail link to Alberta oil sands region

MONTREAL, QUEBEC (NYSE: CNI) announced today it will acquire the Athabasca Northern Railway Ltd. (ANY) to preserve a critical rail link to the oil sands region of northern Alberta.

CN's purchase and rail-line rehabilitation plan are premised on long-term traffic volume guarantees that the Company has negotiated with shippers Suncor Energy Inc., OPTI Canada Inc., and Nexen Inc.

CN will pay C$25 million for ANY and invest C$135 million in rail-line upgrades over three years to improve transit times and service consistency.

E. Hunter Harrison, CN president and chief executive officer, said: "CN's investment and partnership agreements with key shippers will allow the parties to maintain important rail service to Lynton, Alta., a point near Fort McMurray, home of existing and future oil sands development.

"CN is focused on the future. While ANY's current traffic volumes are too low to keep it going as a stand-alone operation, we and our shipper partners see the ANY playing a critical role in one of the world's largest construction projects - the oil sands reserves in northern Alberta are second only to Saudi Arabia's, and industry is expected to invest more than C$100 billion over the next decade in oil sands development, construction and infrastructure upgrading."

The 202-mile ANY connects with CN at Boyle, Alta., located 101 miles north of Edmonton. CN's plans for the line will preserve market access to existing and potential receivers along the rail corridor - today sulphur and petroleum coke move southbound on the ANY, and increased volumes of these commodities are expected to move over the line in future. CN's line rehabilitation, including upgraded rail, ties, bridges and new ballast, will allow greater volumes of northbound shipments of construction materials and machinery to support oil sands development.

Editors: Downloadable map illustrating the ANY rail line and CN's network is available by clicking on the link http://www.cnrelease.com/ANY_en.jpg

"Suncor has a long history with the Athabasca Northern and, with this announcement, we're looking forward to the line's future with upgraded operations," says Mike Ashar, Suncor executive vice president. "Moving oil sands freight by rail and relieving highway traffic has significant safety and environmental benefits that we strongly support."

Without the commitment and investments being made by Suncor, OPTI Canada, NEXEN and CN, the rail line faced abandonment this month. The result would have been a significant increase in truck traffic on Highway 63, generating increased congestion and safety concerns on the busy road. Rail is also a much more efficient way to move freight traffic compared to truck, with significantly fewer Green House Gas (GHG) emissions.

ANY marks CN's third short-line transaction in economically vibrant northern Alberta in the past two years. In January 2006, CN purchased the Mackenzie Northern (MKNR) Railway and Lakeland & Waterways Railway for C$26 million, and in December of that year it acquired the Savage Alberta Railway, Inc., (SAR) for C$25 million. In 2006 and 2007, CN spent C$58 million to upgrade the rail infrastructure of the former MKNR and SAR and is planning C$22 million in further improvements in 2008.

CN is uniquely positioned to capitalize on energy opportunities in the northern Alberta, with a strategically located network close to the action. CN also has a talented team of experts to support economic development in the oil sands area as well as in the Alberta Industrial Heartland near Edmonton that will see construction of C$20-billion worth of heavy oil upgraders in the coming decade.

This news release contains forward-looking statements. CN cautions that, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk, uncertainties and assumptions, and while there may be a risk of recession in the United States economy, the Company's assumption is that positive economic conditions in North America and globally will continue, which assumption may not materialize, and that its results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Important factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to, industry competition, legislative and/or regulatory developments, compliance with environmental laws and regulations, various events which could disrupt operations, including natural events such as severe weather, droughts, floods and earthquakes, the effects of adverse general economic and business conditions, inflation, currency fluctuations, changes in fuel prices, labour disruptions, environmental claims, investigations or proceedings, other types of claims and litigation, and other risks detailed from time to time in reports filed by CN with securities regulators in Canada and the United States. Reference should be made to CN's most recent Form 40-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, its Annual Information Form filed with the Canadian securities regulators, and its 2006 Annual Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto and Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A), as well as its 2007 quarterly consolidated financial statements and MD&A, for a summary of major risks.

CN - Canadian National Railway Company and its operating railway subsidiaries - spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key metropolitan areas of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, St. Louis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For more information on CN, visit the company's website at www.cn.ca.

www.cn.ca

Contacts: CN Jim Feeny (Media) Senior Manager , Public & Government Affairs (780) 421-6123 CN Robert Noorigian (Investment Community) Vice-President, Investor Relations (514) 399-0052 Suncor Energy Inc. Brad Bellows Manager External Communications (403) 269-8717

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