CN to invest C$12 million in expansion of Prince George, B.C.

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C., Sept. 5, 2012 — CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE:CNI) announced today a C$12-million expansion of its Locomotive Reliability Centre (LRC) in this northern British Columbia centre.

Keith Creel, CN executive vice-president and chief operating officer, said: “The Prince George LRC is strategically located midway between Edmonton, Alta., and Prince Rupert, B.C., which are roughly 1,000 miles apart.

“The facility serviced locomotives for more than 9,000 CN trains that transited the city last year. We are at maximum capacity at the LRC, with three shifts per day, seven days a week, and we need to expand it to handle existing and forecast growth of intermodal, coal and other traffic in northern B.C.”

CN will increase floor space at the Prince George locomotive shop by 50 per cent to nearly 50,000 square feet, permitting the addition of four repair bays with pits to handle the forecast increase in locomotive inspections and repairs.

CN will also spend more than C$4 million this year to extend two key sidings north of Prince George on the line toward Chetwynd, B.C., to efficiently and safely accommodate 10,000-foot coal trains serving mines in northeastern region of the province.

CN has invested heavily in the Prince George area to handle increased freight volumes. Including the LRC project and siding extensions this year, CN will have spent more than  C$60 million since 2004 on capital projects in the city. Initiatives have included:

* The construction and expansion of a major transloading and intermodal terminal for the export forest products via the Port of Prince Rupert;
* Yard capacity expansion and upgrades;
* Mechanical installations to repair and service freight cars and,
* Environmental controls, including a fueling station upgrading and new storm water sewers.

In addition to capital spending in the Prince George area and, by year-end 2012, CN will have invested more than C$150 million since 2004 in longer sidings along the Edmonton-Prince Rupert corridor.

Creel added: “CN is a major economic player in the markets it serves, and we are investing proactively in our infrastructure to ensure the supply chains we are part of and the customers we serve have safe, efficient rail capacity to grow and compete effectively at home and abroad.”

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 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 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.

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