CN completes intra-corporate merger of Elgin, Joliet and Eastern
into Wisconsin Central subsidiary
Merger, effective Jan. 1, 2013,
expected to generate operational efficiencies, improved
service
CHICAGO,
Dec. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - CN (TSX:
CNR) (NYSE: CNI) announced today it will complete the merger of the
Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E)
into its Wisconsin Central Ltd. (WC) subsidiary, effective
Jan. 1, 2013. The merger of the two
rail affiliates that connect in the Chicago area will simplify CN's corporate
structure and operations in the United
States.
Jim Vena, CN senior vice-president, CN Southern Region, said:
"CN expects the merger will lead to operational efficiencies and
service improvements. These merged railroads will continue all the
existing operations of WC and EJ&E in the Chicago Terminal with
a unified workforce, which will permit better management of crew
staffing and more efficient and reliable rail service to customers
throughout the region."
The merger was authorized through a notice of exemption for
transactions within a corporate family filed with the U.S. Surface
Transportation Board (STB) on May 23,
2012, that became effective on June
22, 2012. Voluntary implementing agreements with the
unions representing the various crafts were reached, allowing the
company to complete the merger.
The merger will not affect or alter the STB's continuing
oversight and reserved jurisdiction over CN's 2009 acquisition of
the EJ&E, the mitigation conditions imposed by the STB, or the
Voluntary Mitigation Agreements reached by CN and numerous
communities along the EJ&E arc.
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 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
matters, or any other forward-looking statement.
SOURCE CN