EDMONTON, Alberta, March 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) said today it plans to invest approximately $370 million across Alberta in 2019 to expand and strengthen the Company’s rail network throughout the province.

“Following a record capital program in 2018, CN has been able to take on more traffic from different commodity sectors based on contracts with our customers. This year, CN is planning a new record capital investment in Alberta to continue boosting capacity and network resiliency and to meet growing traffic on our corridors across the Province,” said Doug Ryhorchuk, Vice-President of CN’s Western Region.

The Alberta investments are part of CN’s 2019 record $3.9-billion capital investment focused on enabling growth from all commodity segments, including consumer goods, grain, agricultural, forest, and energy products from all of our customers, safely and efficiently. Over two years, CN will have made a $7.4-billion capital investment.

“I appreciate CN making critical investments in Alberta that will help to grow our economy, create jobs, and ensure that Alberta and Western Canadian consumers continue to have access to key markets,” said Randy Boissonnault, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre.

CN is currently deploying important safety enhancing technologies across its network, such as the Autonomous Track Inspection Program, Distributed Air Cars and Automated Inspection Portals. These innovations, combined with CN’s investments in locomotives, capacity, infrastructure, and train crews, will support the safe and efficient movement of our customers’ goods to their end markets.

“Market access for Alberta producers is important for diversifying our economy, creating jobs, and making life better,” said Ken Kobly, President and CEO of the Alberta Chambers of Commerce. “It’s great to see CN is making investments geared toward improvement in the rail network and boosting market access for our producers.”

Planned expansion projects include:

• Construction of about 12 miles of double track between Leaman and Nilton, west of Edmonton;
• Construction of about 5 miles of double track near Entrance, east of the Alberta-British Columbia border;
• Construction of about 7 miles of double track near Greenshields, east of Edmonton; and,
• Building new tracks at Scotford Yard northeast of Edmonton to increase yard capacity for growing local demands.            

Maintenance program highlights include:             

• Replacement of more than 90 miles of rail;
• Installation of approximately 210,000 new railroad ties;
• Rebuilds of 44 road crossing surfaces; and,
• Maintenance work on bridges, culverts, signal systems, and other track infrastructure.

CN’s Alberta rail network includes key terminals in Edmonton, and Calgary, serving customers in forest products, intermodal, agricultural and energy markets across the province.

Alberta in numbers:

• Capital investments: More than $1.4 billion in the last five years
• Employees: approximately 3,000
• Railroad route miles operated: 2,484
• Community partnerships: $1.1 million in 2018
• Local spending: $759 million in 2018
• Total taxes paid by CN: $138 million in 2018

Forward-looking statements
Certain statements included in this news release constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and under Canadian securities laws. By their nature, 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. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of terminology such as “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “assumes,” “outlook,” “plans,” “targets,” or other similar words.

Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results or performance of the Company to be materially different from the outlook or any future results or performance implied by such statements. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking 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; increases in maintenance and operating costs; security threats; reliance on technology and related cybersecurity risk; trade restrictions or other changes to international trade arrangements; transportation of hazardous materials; various events which could disrupt operations, including natural events such as severe weather, droughts, fires, floods and earthquakes; climate change; labor negotiations and disruptions; environmental claims; uncertainties of investigations, proceedings or other types of claims and litigation; risks and liabilities arising from derailments; timing and completion of capital programs; 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 and available on CN’s website, for a description of major risk factors.

Forward-looking statements reflect information as of the date on which they are made. 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 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 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.