C$250-million infrastructure investment to support economic growth

MILTON, ON, Jan. 7, 2016 /CNW/ - CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) announced today that it has submitted a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) for its proposed logistics hub to be built in Milton, Ontario.

The EIS describes measures the company plans to adopt to lessen the project's environmental impact on the community:

• A 1.7-kilometre private road to be constructed on CN property to avoid truck queuing on public roads.
• A new underpass to be constructed for Lower Base Line to minimize the impact on commuters travelling in east and west directions past the hub.
• Raised earthen berms topped off with native Ontario vegetation and trees to reduce the effects of noise and blend into the natural environment of the area.
• Enhancements to be made to the natural habitat of Indian Creek.
• Environmentally advanced technology and design in the hub, including solar panels, rainwater capture, natural and LED lighting.

The EIS is available on CEAA's website.  

The proposed C$250-million investment is expected to have significant economic benefits:

• Help CN meet the critical transportation infrastructure needs of a growing Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
• Create more inland freight capacity to better connect domestic and global supply chains linking the West and East coasts in Canada.
• Facilitate logistics development and job creation in Milton and the Halton Region.

The EIS concluded that terminal-generated traffic on neighbouring roads will increase less than three per cent of predicted volumes during peak hours. CN will continue to work with the municipalities to inform their on-going traffic planning efforts.

The EIS also concluded that there would be no significant adverse residual environmental effects during all phases of the project.

CN is committed to a full federal review of the project and to active consultation with the community.

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. To the extent that CN has provided guidance that are non-GAAP financial measures, the Company may not be able to provide a reconciliation to the GAAP measures, due to unknown variables and uncertainty related to future results. Key assumptions used in determining forward-looking information are set forth below.

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 risk factors.

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 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

SOURCE CN