CN and Norfolk Southern joint interline service reducing transcontinental transit times by up to 48 hours

Collaboration adds more service consistency through greater Chicago gateway for freight between Western Canada and Eastern U.S.

MONTREAL and NORFOLK, VA, Oct. 27, 2017 /CNW/ - CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) and Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) today announced that a new joint interline service initiative is reducing transit times by one to two days for carload traffic between Western Canada and NS destinations in the Eastern United States.

This seamless interline service, established in August, allows freight to bypass traditional interchange points in Chicago, in favor of using the most efficient existing CN and NS routes. The service has reduced transit times by up to 48 hours, providing customers more efficient delivery to final destinations.

CN and NS are interchanging two eastbound and two westbound manifest trains daily through greater Chicago, connecting CN's network in Western Canada and NS' network in the Eastern United States as part of the new service. Traffic is interchanging at NS' major rail yard in Elkhart, Ind., avoiding extra handlings in the Chicago terminal.

Jim Squires, Norfolk Southern chairman, president and chief executive officer, said: "Together, CN and NS have re-engineered our Chicago connections to provide shippers with a new superior-service shipping option. Customers on both railways are seeing faster and more reliable service, benefitting their supply chains."

Luc Jobin, CN president and chief executive officer, said: "Through collaboration, CN and NS are bringing more efficiencies to the supply chain as we deliver higher and more reliable levels of service to our customers."

CN and NS continue to explore adding additional traffic to the new interline service.

About CN
CN is a true backbone of the economy whose team of approximately 23,000 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.

About Norfolk Southern
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is one of the nation's premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway Company subsidiary operates approximately 19,500 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal, automotive, and industrial products.

Forward-looking information
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. CN and Norfolk Southern caution that their respective 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.

Important risk factors that could affect the forward-looking statements, for CN, 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; trade restrictions; transportation of hazardous materials; various events which could disrupt operations, including natural events such as severe weather, droughts, 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 (MD&A) 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 with respect to CN.

Forward-looking statements reflect Norfolk Southern's good-faith evaluation of information currently available.  These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, and its actual results may differ materially from those projected.  Please refer to Norfolk Southern Corporation's annual and quarterly reports filed with the SEC for a full discussion of those risks and uncertainties Norfolk Southern views as most important. 

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 CN or Norfolk Southern 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.

Forward-looking statements reflect information as of the date on which they are made. CN and Norfolk Southern assume 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 or Norfolk Southern does update any forward-looking statement, no inference should be made that CN or Norfolk Southern will make additional updates with respect to that statement, related matters, or any other forward-looking statement.

SOURCE CN