CN presents Safe Handling Awards to shippers

MONTREAL, April 28, 2009 — CN (TSX: CNR)(NYSE: CNI) today announced the winners of its Safe Handling Awards for 2008. These awards are among the most coveted and respected in the industry. In all, 98 companies were presented with the Safe Handling Awards at a special ceremony here yesterday evening.

“On behalf of CN, it is with great pleasure that I congratulate each of the Safe Handling Award recipients for 2008,” said Fiona Murray, CN's assistant vice-president, Petroleum and Chemicals. “These awards were established to recognize customers for handling dangerous goods carefully and judiciously, and for respecting high standards. Our customers and employees work together to meet the day-to-day challenges of maintaining a safe operation. Like CN, our customers make safety a priority everyday.”

Launched in 1992, 2009 marks the 17th consecutive year that CN's Safe Handling Awards have been presented to customers that load cars with dangerous goods and meet strict standards for the safe handling and shipment of regulated products. The winners must meet established criteria, according to the total number of shipments of dangerous goods for all facilities.

The Safe Handling Awards program is one of a series of initiatives aimed at making CN the safest railway in North America.

“The Safe Handling Awards are an integral part of the Responsible Care® Program – an ongoing performance improvement initiative in which CN is a partner, both in Canada and the U.S.,” explained Keith Creel, CN's executive vice-president of Operations.  “The safety of our operations is of the utmost importance to CN, and our customers play an important role in ensuring the safety of our employees, communities, and the environment. We're pleased to recognize those partners who excel in this ongoing effort”.