Merger, effective Jan. 1, 2013, expected to generate operational efficiencies, improved service

CHICAGO, Dec. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) announced today it will complete the merger of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E) into its Wisconsin Central Ltd. (WC) subsidiary, effective Jan. 1, 2013. The merger of the two rail affiliates that connect in the Chicago area will simplify CN's corporate structure and operations in the United States.

Jim Vena, CN senior vice-president, CN Southern Region, said: "CN expects the merger will lead to operational efficiencies and service improvements. These merged railroads will continue all the existing operations of WC and EJ&E in the Chicago Terminal with a unified workforce, which will permit better management of crew staffing and more efficient and reliable rail service to customers throughout the region."

The merger was authorized through a notice of exemption for transactions within a corporate family filed with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) on May 23, 2012, that became effective on June 22, 2012.  Voluntary implementing agreements with the unions representing the various crafts were reached, allowing the company to complete the merger.

The merger will not affect or alter the STB's continuing oversight and reserved jurisdiction over CN's 2009 acquisition of the EJ&E, the mitigation conditions imposed by the STB, or the Voluntary Mitigation Agreements reached by CN and numerous communities along the EJ&E arc.

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 www.cn.ca.

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 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 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.

SOURCE CN