MONTREAL,
April 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - CN
(TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) announced today a multi-year program to
invest approximately C$500 million in
infrastructure improvements to its Western Canada feeder rail lines in
Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan that are handling rising volumes
of industrial products, natural resources, and energy-related
commodities.
In 2015, CN will allocate approximately
C$100 million for work on northern
Alberta branch lines, investing in
infrastructure upgrades and safety improvements, including heavier
rail, crushed rock ballast and new ties, to ensure the network can
efficiently accommodate future freight volume growth in the Peace
River region.
Claude Mongeau,
president and chief executive officer, said: "CN is building for
the future with large capital investments in long-term safety and
capacity improvements to ensure it continues to play its role as a
true backbone of the economy.
"CN sees significant long-term potential in its
customer base located on its Western
Canada feeder network. We want to provide our customers with
the capacity for continued efficient freight transportation
services that increase their competitiveness in North American and
global markets, as well as ensure our rail infrastructure is as
safe as possible."
CN continues to see rising freight volumes in
Western Canada, which have
increased by more than 50 per cent in the past five years. Given
this growth, CN has also invested significantly in its Edmonton-Winnipeg main line corridor, installing
sections of double track, extending sidings to accommodate longer
more efficient trains, and improving major classification
yards.
CN's major investments in Western Canada are designed to increase the
capacity and safety of its rail infrastructure and to allow the
company to continue to grow at low incremental cost in support of
Canada's trade.
Mongeau concluded: "CN believes that commercial principles and a
stable regulatory environment are essential to support rail
infrastructure investment and maintain Canada's safe, efficient and well-functioning
rail transportation marketplace in the future."
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, including statements relating to
freight volume growth in Western
Canada and the long-term potential of Western Canadian
customers, 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 more than 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