CN Signs Voluntary Mitigation Agreement With The Village Of Plainfield

Source: CN (Press Release)

CN announced today it has reached a voluntary mitigation agreement (VMA) with the Village of Plainfield, Ill., located 35 miles southwest of Chicago, addressing the municipality's environmental issues with CN's acquisition of the principal lines of the former Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E). With this agreement, CN has VMAs with 21 municipalities of the 33 communities situated on the EJ&E in Illinois and Indiana.

CN's latest VMA will provide funding for environmental measures including maintenance of an existing quiet zone, operations mitigation, emergency response training, safety initiatives, and improved communication.

CN completed its EJ&E acquisition on Jan. 31, 2009, and, while traffic volumes overall remain down owing to general economic conditions, CN has rerouted a limited number of its trains over the rail line.

CN has been very transparent in its implementation of this transaction. In compliance with the Surface Transportation Board's (STB) Dec. 24, 2008, decision approving the EJ&E transaction, CN files monthly operational and quarterly environmental reports at the Board with updates on the status of implementation of the environmental mitigation measures imposed by the agency.

CN is also working closely with communities along 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 STB.

Integration of the CN and EJ&E networks is well underway, and, as contemplated in the original plan, the Company continues to expect it will be completed within three years of its acquisition of control.

More information on the acquisition, including a map of the areas served by the EJ&E and CN, is available.

See Also: CN Locomotive Engineers' Strike To End Immediately After Company And Union Reach Agreement / CN Makes New Offer To Locomotive Engineers' Union In An Effort To End The Strike In Canada / Talks Between CN And Locomotive Engineers' Union In Canada Break Off With No Settlement / CN Receives Strike Notice From Union Representing Locomotive Engineers In Canada / CN To Implement Wage Increase And Milage Cap For It's Canadian Engineers / CN Reaches 20th Voluntary Mitigation Agreement (VMA), Makes Substantial Strides In EJ&E Integration

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