TORONTO, March 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Metrolinx has
purchased a section of CN's Kingston Subdivision rail line, used
primarily for commuter and passenger rail operations in eastern
Toronto, for C$299 million.
The rail line acquired by Metrolinx from CN (TSX: CNR)
(NYSE:CNI) is composed of the two- and three-track rail corridor
east of Union Station in downtown Toronto to a junction near Whites Road in
Pickering, Ont., where the line
connects with GO Transit's separate rail right-of-way.
Metrolinx President and Chief Executive Officer Bruce McCuaig said, "With today's announcement,
Metrolinx gains full ownership of an important segment of GO
Transit's Lakeshore East commuter rail corridor from Union Station
to Oshawa, Ont., and a direct
connection to GO's Stouffville
corridor in eastern Toronto.
"Owning this rail corridor section better positions GO to
improve service, better control operations and plan future service
growth."
Metrolinx now owns 61 per cent of the rail corridors on which GO
Transit operates.
CN President and Chief Executive Officer Claude Mongeau said, "We are pleased to have
concluded this sales agreement to transfer a critical link in the
commuter rail network to Metrolinx, while protecting CN's operating
rights over this line to ensure continued service to its freight
customers. CN has a strong partnership with Metrolinx and we will
continue to support commuter rail as a sustainable mode of
transport in the Greater Toronto
Area."
Please visit www.cn.ca/kingston for a map of the Kingston
Subdivision and CN and GO Transit rail corridors in the
Greater Toronto Area.
Metrolinx is the Province of Ontario's regional transportation agency for
the Greater Toronto and
Hamilton Area (GTHA). For more
information, go to www.metrolinx.com. GO Transit, a division of
Metrolinx, is Ontario's
inter-regional public transit system linking Toronto with the surrounding regions of the
GTHA. GO carries more than 57 million passengers a year in an
extensive network of train and bus services that spans over 10,000
square kilometres. For more information, go to
www.gotransit.com.
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.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information included in this news release constitutes
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United
States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and under
Canadian securities laws. CN cautions that, by their nature, these
forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and
assumptions. The Company cautions that its assumptions may not
materialize and that current economic conditions render such
assumptions, although reasonable at the time they were made,
subject to greater uncertainty. Such forward-looking statements are
not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual
results or performance of the Company or the rail industry to be
materially different from the outlook or any future results or
performance implied by such statements. Important factors that
could affect the above forward-looking statements include, but are
not limited to, the effects of general economic and business
conditions, industry competition, inflation, currency and interest
rate fluctuations, changes in fuel prices, legislative and/or
regulatory developments, compliance with environmental laws and
regulations, actions by regulators, various events which could
disrupt operations, including natural events such as severe
weather, droughts, floods and earthquakes, labor negotiations and
disruptions, environmental claims, uncertainties of investigations,
proceedings or other types of claims and litigation, risks and
liabilities arising from derailments, 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
"Management's Discussion and Analysis" in CN's annual and interim
reports, Annual Information Form and Form 40-F filed with Canadian
and U.S. securities regulators, available on CN's website, for a
summary of major risks.
CN assumes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking
statements to reflect future events, changes in circumstances, or
changes in beliefs, unless required by applicable Canadian
securities laws. In the event CN does update any forward-looking
statement, no inference should be made that CN will make additional
updates with respect to that statement, related maters, or any
other forward-looking statement.
SOURCE CN