Prince George area
investments since 2004 will total over C$60
million by year-end 2012
PRINCE GEORGE, BC,
Sept. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - CN (TSX:
CNR) (NYSE: CNI) announced today a C$12-million expansion of its Locomotive
Reliability Centre (LRC) in this northern British Columbia centre.
Keith Creel, CN executive vice-president and chief operating
officer, said: "The Prince George LRC is strategically located
midway between Edmonton, Alta.,
and Prince Rupert, B.C., which are
roughly 1,000 miles apart.
"The facility serviced locomotives for more than 9,000 CN trains
that transited the city last year. We are at maximum capacity at
the LRC, with three shifts per day, seven days a week, and we need
to expand it to handle existing and forecast growth of intermodal,
coal and other traffic in northern B.C."
CN will increase floor space at the Prince George locomotive shop by 50 per cent
to nearly 50,000 square feet, permitting the addition of four
repair bays with pits to handle the forecast increase in locomotive
inspections and repairs.
CN will also spend more than C$4
million this year to extend two key sidings north of
Prince George on the line toward
Chetwynd, B.C., to efficiently and
safely accommodate 10,000-foot coal trains serving mines in
northeastern region of the province.
CN has invested heavily in the Prince
George area to handle increased freight volumes. Including
the LRC project and siding extensions this year, CN will have spent
more than C$60 million since 2004 on
capital projects in the city. Initiatives have included:
- The construction and expansion of a major transloading and
intermodal terminal for the export forest products via the Port of
Prince Rupert;
- Yard capacity expansion and upgrades;
- Mechanical installations to repair and service freight cars
and,
- Environmental controls, including a fueling station upgrading
and new storm water sewers.
In addition to capital spending in the Prince George area and, by year-end 2012, CN
will have invested more than C$150
million since 2004 in longer sidings along the Edmonton-Prince
Rupert corridor.
Creel added: "CN is a major economic player in the markets it
serves, and we are investing proactively in our infrastructure to
ensure the supply chains we are part of and the customers we serve
have safe, efficient rail capacity to grow and compete effectively
at home and abroad."
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, 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