CN welcomes Maher Terminals' expansion plan for Prince Rupert, B.C., container terminal

Investment in future growth testament to the strength of supply chain collaboration among CN, Maher and Prince Rupert Port Authority

MONTREAL, March 10, 2015 /CNW/ - Claude Mongeau, president and chief executive officer of CN  (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI), today welcomed news that Maher Terminals Holding Corp. will expand the capacity of the Port of Prince Rupert's Fairview Container Terminal to more than 1.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually, from the current annual container-handling capacity of approximately 850,000 TEUs.

"This investment in terminal expansion to accommodate future growth in overseas container traffic is good news for CN's customers and the Pacific Gateway we serve," Mongeau said.

"Fairview Container Terminal, opened in 2007, has become a major gateway success for trade between Asia, Canada and the U.S. Midwest. This success is testament to the supply chain collaboration and innovation focus of CN, Maher and the Prince Rupert Port Authority. Together we understand what it takes to foster continual improvements in port-terminal-rail efficiencies that help our customers compete more effectively in their end markets. This is a virtuous cycle, setting the stage for future growth, one container at a time.

"CN is proud of its role in Prince Rupert's success. We will continue to invest in rail capacity improvements along our route from northern British Columbia to key markets such as Chicago and Memphis. Our investment in the Kaien long rail siding just outside of Fairview terminal is helping us to accommodate growth in container volumes with greater efficiency. We will also expand our intermodal network and terminal capacity to continue playing our role as true backbone of the economy."

In seven years of operations, traffic through Prince Rupert's Fairview Container Terminal has grown at the fastest pace of any container terminal in North America. In 2014, volume increased 15 per cent over year-earlier volumes, while Fairview continued to post excellent terminal dwell times for containers.

The Fairview Container Terminal expansion project will start in April 2015 and is expected to be finished by mid-2017.

Prince Rupert is the closest major North American port to Asia with direct on-dock access to CN's rail network. Containers are rapidly transferred between vessel and rail, enhancing Prince Rupert's total transit time advantage. The port is also North America's deepest natural harbor and can efficiently handle the world's largest container vessels.

Maher Terminals is an affiliate of Maher Terminals LLC of Elizabeth, N.J.

Forward-Looking Statements 

Certain information included in this news release is "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 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, 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.

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

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