CN investing $30 million in New Brunswick’s rail infrastructure in 2018

MONCTON, New Brunswick, June 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CN (TSX:CNR) (NYSE:CNI) said today it plans to invest  $30 million in New Brunswick in 2018 to strengthen the company’s rail network across the province, improving safety and supporting efficient service.

The investments are part of CN’s overall capital program in 2018 and will focus on the replacement, upgrade and maintenance of key track infrastructure. Planned capital work in New Brunswick will support network safety and efficiency through:

• Installation of about 20 miles of new rail
• Installation of more than 50,000 railroad ties
• Rebuilds of road crossing surfaces and maintenance work on bridges, culverts, signal systems and other track infrastructure

Michael Farkouh, vice-president of CN’s Eastern Region, said: “We are again investing across New Brunswick to support a safe and fluid railway network. CN remains committed to investing for the long haul to raise the bar on service for our customers in New Brunswick and North America, while continuing to strengthen our infrastructure in support of our unwavering commitment to railway safety.”

CN’s New Brunswick rail network spans the province transporting consumer goods and other intermodal traffic to Moncton and reaches the ports of Saint John and Belledune.

“Many of our New Brunswick companies depend on rail transport as a reliable and efficient way to get their goods to market,” said Karen Ludwig, member of parliament for New Brunswick Southwest and chair of the New Brunswick Caucus. “CN’s commitment to strengthen the company’s infrastructure in the province is an important development for job creation and our future economic growth.”

"Rail services in Atlantic Canada provide the backbone for an efficient intermodal transportation system and allow our region to act as hub for global trade,” said Sheri Somerville, chief executive officer of the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce. “With this investment, CN continues to demonstrate accountability for maintaining a vital national trade link and a substantial contribution to the economy in Atlantic Canada. A long-standing corporate partner to the Atlantic Chamber, CN is a critical and valued member to us and the Atlantic community."

CN investing for the long haul

Across its network, CN continues to invest in trade-enabling infrastructure and equipment. Earlier this year, CN announced plans to acquire 350 new box cars to serve forest products and metals customers and to purchase 350 new lumber cars to meet growing demand to move wood products. In May, CN announced that it plans to acquire 1,000 Canadian built, new generation, high-cube grain hopper cars over the next two years to rejuvenate the aging equipment needed to serve increasing annual crop yields. This month, CN is taking delivery of the first of 60 new GE locomotives due in service in 2018. The balance of a multi-year, 200-unit order will be brought online in 2019 and 2020. 

CN is also pleased to announce the establishment of a new, two-year Management Trainee Program designed to provide a solid operational background for the railway’s next generation of leaders. Over the course of the program, trainees will learn how CN operates and gain exposure to the Company’s business agenda of operational and service excellence for its customers across North America. Successful graduates will be placed in full-time, permanent management positions aligned with individual educational background and experience. The first 50 trainees, from both Canada and the United States, will start in July 2018.

New Brunswick in numbers:

• Capital investments: $150 million in the last five years
• Employees: approximately 330
• Railroad route miles operated: 596
• Community Partnerships: $214,000 in 2017
• Local spending: $65 million in 2017
• Cash taxes paid: $2 million in 2017

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements included in this news release constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and under Canadian securities laws. By their nature, 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. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of terminology such as “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “assumes,” “outlook,” “plans,” “targets,” or other similar words.

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 to be materially different from the outlook or any future results or performance implied by such statements. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking 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; increases in maintenance and operating costs; security threats; reliance on technology and related cybersecurity risk; trade restrictions or other changes to international trade arrangements; transportation of hazardous materials; various events which could disrupt operations, including natural events such as severe weather, droughts, fires, floods and earthquakes; climate change; labor negotiations and disruptions; environmental claims; uncertainties of investigations, proceedings or other types of claims and litigation; risks and liabilities arising from derailments; timing and completion of capital programs; 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 and available on CN’s website, for a description of major risk factors.

Forward-looking statements reflect information as of the date on which they are made. 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 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 whose team of approximately 25,000 railroaders transports 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 of approximately 20,000 route-miles 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 about CN, visit the Company’s website at www.cn.ca.

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