TORONTO,
July 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - CN (TSX:
CNR) (NYSE: CNI) announced today plans to construct two more
extended sidings on its Northern
Ontario main line this year, bringing its investments in
seven long sidings in this corridor to more than C$30 million. Two additional extended sidings,
costing a total of C$10 million, are
planned for this main line in 2012.
Keith Creel, executive
vice-president and chief operating officer, said: "CN's main line
through Northern Ontario is a
critical link in our transcontinental network connecting Central,
Eastern and Western Canada. The
strategic investments in longer sidings will help to further
increase our ability to process freight trains efficiently across
this line, enhance network velocity and productivity, and improve
the safety of operations."
CN's longer sidings program is creating sidings of 12,000 to
13,000 feet long from sidings that were previously 6,000 to 7,000
feet in length.
CN's main line through Northern
Ontario sees an average of 14 freight trains daily,
including intermodal trains between Toronto, the principal cities of Winnipeg, Edmonton and Calgary, and the west coast ports of
Vancouver and Prince Rupert. The corridor also hosts two
transcontinental passenger trains three days a week.
Extended sidings allow CN to maximize the benefits of its
longer-train operating plan in main-line corridors across its
system. These more efficient trains are equipped with distributed
power (DP) technology, which permits remote control of a locomotive
or locomotives throughout a train from the lead control locomotive.
DP provides faster, smoother train starts, improved braking and
lower pulling forces at the head-end of a train, and improved
safety. With more optimum matching of motive power to train weight,
DP locomotives also allow CN to reduce fuel consumption and reduce
emissions.
CN's infrastructure improvements to date in Northern Ontario permit the highest average
freight train speeds on its entire system - as high as 40 miles per
hour. And those investments, along with DP locomotive technology,
significantly improve winter operations in the region.
CN's Northern Ontario siding
investments are part of the company's C$1.7-billion 2011 capital expenditure program to
maintain a safe and fluid railway network, to grow the business
efficiently and to continue to provide customers with a high level
of service.
Creel said: "These extended siding investments in the almost
1,200-mile corridor between Toronto and Winnipeg will help CN deliver greater supply
chain efficiencies. CN is committed to greater productivity and
service innovation to help our customers compete better in their
markets."
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information included in this news
release are "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 of 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 risk factors that could affect the
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.
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.
SOURCE CN