CHICAGO, IL, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CN (TSX: CNR) announced today an agreement with the City of Chicago Heights, Ill., located 26 miles south of downtown Chicago and six miles from the Indiana border, that addresses municipal concerns about CN's proposed acquisition of the principal lines of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E).
Under the agreement, CN will assist in the creation and maintenance of quiet zones and take various steps to improve operations, safety, fencing and emergency preparedness and promote economic development in Chicago Heights.
The agreement is contingent upon regulatory approval of CN's proposed acquisition of the EJ&E. The transaction is being reviewed by the Surface Transportation Board (STB), which is encouraging CN and communities to reach voluntary mitigation agreements.
Gordon Trafton, CN senior vice-president, Southern Region, said: "We thank Chicago Heights for working with CN to negotiate a mutually satisfactory plan to manage the impact of our transaction on the community.
"More municipalities are responding to CN's outreach efforts by entering into mitigation agreements with the railroad that address their unique concerns. To date, CN has reached agreements with three other municipalities along the EJ&E line - Joliet and Crest Hill, Illinois, and Dyer, Indiana - and CN remains committed to negotiating additional agreements with other communities along the EJ&E."
CN has also reached an agreement with Amtrak preserving Amtrak's current route to Chicago's Union Station for passenger service to and from Carbondale, Champaign, and other downstate Illinois points.
CN is committed to meet all of the STB's established mitigation standards under a comprehensive mitigation program that would cost about $60 million, in addition to $100 million CN has earmarked for infrastructure improvements on the EJ&E.
"With the final Environmental Impact Statement on the transaction now issued, CN hopes to see a final STB decision in the near future that would approve the transaction and allow for its benefits to be realized," Trafton said. "CN's EJ&E transaction will generate meaningful transportation, environmental and economic benefits for the Chicago region and the nation as a whole."
CN and U. S. Steel, the indirect owner of the EJ&E, announced on Sept. 26, 2007, an agreement under which CN would acquire most of the EJ&E for $300 million, subject to regulatory approval by the STB. More information on the transaction, including a map of the areas served by the EJ&E and CN, is available by clicking on the EJ&E Acquisition icon on CN's website http://www.cn.ca/
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements. CN cautions that, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk, uncertainties and assumptions. Implicit in these statements, particularly in respect of growth opportunities, is the Company's assumption that such growth opportunities extend beyond business cycle considerations and, as such, are less affected by the current situation in the North American and global economies. The Company cautions that its assumptions may not materialize and that current economic conditions render such assumptions, reasonable at the time they were made, subject to greater uncertainty. The current situation in financial markets is adding a substantial amount of risk to the North American economy, which is currently experiencing recessionary conditions, and to the global economy, which is already slowing down. Under these circumstances, it is difficult to make a projection in respect of business prospects for the next 12 to 18 months. The Company cautions that its results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to, industry competition, legislative and/or regulatory developments, compliance with environmental laws and regulations, various events which could disrupt operations, including natural events such as severe weather, droughts, floods and earthquakes, the effects of adverse general economic and business conditions, inflation, currency fluctuations, changes in fuel prices, labor disruptions, environmental claims, investigations or proceedings, other types of claims and litigation, 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 and 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 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 - Canadian National Railway Company and its operating railway subsidiaries - spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key metropolitan areas of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For more information on CN, visit the company's website at http://www.cn.ca/
