MONTREAL,
Feb. 19, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - CN (TSX:
CNR) (NYSE: CNI) announced today a 2014 plan to invest
approximately C$2.1 billion to
continue to raise network safety and efficiency, improve service
and grow the business.
Claude Mongeau, president and
chief executive officer, said: "CN is committed to making continued
improvements in its safety performance - infrastructure investments
are critical to this, as well as to driving improvements in
customer service and taking advantage of freight opportunities to
grow the business at low incremental cost.
"Investments in our network and distribution capability, the
acquisition of new locomotives and equipment and the enhancement of
information systems and technology will help support our agenda of
operational and service excellence. They will help us achieve our
goal of becoming a true supply chain enabler and help our customers
compete better in their markets. They will also position us to take
advantage of business opportunities in intermodal, energy and other
resource and manufacturing markets."
CN is targeting to spend more than C$1.2
billion in 2014 on track infrastructure and to improve the
safety, productivity and fluidity of the network. This investment
will include the replacement of rail, ties and other track
materials, bridge improvements, as well as various branch-line
upgrades. This envelope will also include funds for strategic
initiatives and additional improvements to track infrastructure in
western and eastern Canada as well
as in the United States. In 2013,
CN invested approximately C$100
million in the Edmonton-Winnipeg corridor to increase rail capacity
and to support the movement of strong volumes of grain and other
commodities.
CN's equipment capital expenditures in 2014 are targeted to
reach approximately C$300 million,
allowing the company to tap growth opportunities and improve the
quality of the fleet. To accommodate increased traffic and improve
operational efficiency, CN in 2013 took delivery of 44 new and 37
second-hand high-horsepower locomotives. In 2014, CN will acquire
an additional 45 new high-horsepower locomotives.
By the end of 2014, CN will have acquired 763 high-horsepower
locomotives over a 10-year period - these units will represent more
than one-half of CN's high-horsepower mainline fleet. Of these
acquisitions, 114 units will have alternate-current electrical (AC)
traction systems. AC traction motors are more robust than
direct-current ones in extreme winter conditions and improve
locomotive fleet reliability.
CN also expects to spend approximately C$600 million in 2014 on facilities to grow the
business, including transloading terminals, distribution centers
and the completion of its Calgary Logistics Park project. This
envelope also includes capital for information technology to
improve service and operating efficiency, and for other projects to
increase the productivity of operations.
Across all of the envelopes are capital projects that will have
a major impact on safety. In addition to capital expenditures to
ensure the integrity of CN's rail infrastructure, the company is
allocating funds to enhance its system-wide flaw detection
capabilities. CN will also complete the construction in 2014 of two
state-of-the-art training facilities - one in Winnipeg, the other in suburban Chicago - that will help strengthen CN's
safety culture and prepare a new generation of safety-conscious
railroaders.
In 2013, CN's capital investment program totalled approximately
C$2.0 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 is a true backbone of the economy,
transporting approximately C$250
billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business
sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to
consumer goods, across a rail network spanning Canada and mid-America. CN - Canadian National
Railway Company, along with its operating railway subsidiaries --
serves the cities and ports of Vancouver, Prince
Rupert, B.C., Montreal,
Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the metropolitan areas of
Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Chicago, Memphis, Detroit, Duluth,
Minn./Superior, Wis., 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