CNR Canadian National Railway Company

MONTREAL, Feb. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) announced today a 2013 plan to invest approximately C$1.9 billion to maintain and upgrade its railway network, grow the business efficiently, and continue to improve customer service.

Claude Mongeau, president and chief executive officer, said: "CN is committed to operating a safe and sustainable railway, making continued improvements in service and seizing traffic opportunities to grow at low incremental cost.

"Infrastructure investments, the acquisition of new locomotives and equipment and the enhancement of information technology systems will help support our agenda of operational and service excellence. They will also make our customers more competitive in domestic and global markets and position us to maximize further business opportunities in intermodal, energy and other resource and manufacturing markets in 2013 and beyond."

More than C$1 billion in 2013 will be spent on track infrastructure to continue operating a safe railway and to improve the productivity and fluidity of the network. This investment will include the replacement of rail, ties and other track materials, and bridge work, as well as capacity and productivity improvements, among others, to:

• Continue CN's extended siding program in northern British Columbia, Alberta, and northern Ontario;

• Double-track portions of its mainline in Saskatchewan and add new signals on CN's Alberta main line to expedite train movements;

• Continue improvements at Kirk Yard in Gary, Ind., and the former Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway line, and increase yard capacity and add sidings in the Baton Rouge, La., region.
  

CN also expects to spend approximately C$700 million to grow with its customers across a range of markets as they expand their business, including investments in:

• Transloading operations and distribution centres to transfer freight efficiently between rail and truck;

• Construction of the recently-announced intermodal terminal in Joliet, Ill., and the completion of the Calgary Logistics Park project, and

• Information technology to improve service and operating efficiency, and other projects to support the Company's strategic agenda.

In addition, CN will target approximately C$200 million in 2013 for the acquisition of locomotives, intermodal equipment and vehicles as well as locomotive and car refurbishments. CN expects to take delivery of 40 new and 37 second-hand high-horsepower locomotives over the next 24 months, after also acquiring 25 new and 123 second-hand high-horsepower locomotives in 2012.

In 2012, CN's capital investment program totalled more than C$1.8 billion.

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 and assumptions 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.

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