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
