CN signs voluntary mitigation agreement (VMA) with Village of Ford Heights, Ill.

CHICAGO, IL, Nov. 4 /CNW Telbec/ - CN (TSX: CNR)(NYSE: CNI) announced today it has reached a voluntary mitigation agreement (VMA) with the Village of Ford Heights, Ill., located approximately 26 miles south of downtown Chicago, regarding its acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E). With this agreement, CN has VMAs with 25 of the 33 communities along the EJ&E in Illinois and Indiana.

CN, which completed its purchase of the EJ&E on Jan. 31, 2009, will provide Ford Heights funding for industrial and economic development, as well as for communications, emergency response training and recreational facilities.

Jim Vena, CN senior vice-president, Southern Region, said: CN is pleased to have reached this negotiated settlement with Ford Heights. The bulk of the funding under this agreement is earmarked to help the village identify and market industrial properties that can be served by rail. We hope this economic development support will prove to be mutually beneficial to the village and CN in the years ahead.

Ford Heights Mayor Charles R. Griffin said: We welcome the support of CN in our efforts to draw new business and employment to the village. We believe ready access to CN's North American rail network, our proximity to major Chicago interstate highways and a suitable supply of real estate will make Ford Heights attractive to industry.

CN is also working closely with communities on the EJ&E that do not have agreements with CN to ensure implementation of safety and environmental conditions in accordance with the requirements of the Surface Transportation Board.

Integration of the CN and EJ&E networks is well underway. For more information on the acquisition, including a map of the areas served by CN, please 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, including statements as to the expected completion of the integration of the CN and EJ&E networks. 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 of 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 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 - 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.