CN reaches framework agreement with Alabama State Port Authority, APM Terminals to increase the Port of Mobile's geographic reach and gain share in North American markets

CHICAGO, June 15, 2015 /CNW/ - CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Alabama State Port Authority (ASPA), which owns the public terminals at the Port of Mobile, intended to drive increased supply chain efficiency and a greater share of transportation markets in North America.

JJ Ruest, CN executive vice-president and chief marketing officer, said: "We believe the agreement -– similar to ones CN has signed with all of Canada's major ports and intermodal terminals -- will extend the geographic reach of the Port of Mobile so that we all can take advantage of potential new container rail traffic following completion of the Panama Canal expansion project in 2016."

A key signatory to CN's MOU for the Port of Mobile gateway is APM Terminals Mobile, LLC. APM Terminals operates a 95-acre, deep-sea container terminal at the Port of Mobile. The state-of-the-art container terminal is adjacent to the intermodal rail facility now under construction. The ASPA is building the US$32-million rail terminal that will permit the direct and fluid transfer of containers between vessel and rail car in the spring of 2016.

James K. Lyons, chief executive officer of the ASPA, said: "The completion of an adjacent rail container transfer facility at our port in the spring of 2016 will improve our ability to handle container traffic. Our future level-of-service agreement with our port partners will create a range of competitive key performance indicators through a system that encourages collaboration and accountability, for the benefit of our mutual customers."

Ruest concluded: "With increased canal capacity and the new rail facility at the Port of Mobile, CN sees a 'third-coast' opportunity for increased volumes of container traffic entering North America via the Gulf of Mexico. We're looking forward to working with our partners in Mobile to make their supply chains more competitive and grow our business with them."

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 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 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

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