Railroad News

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On Jan. 25, CN announced Tracy Robinson would become its next president and CEO on Feb. 28. Robinson’s appointment follows the previously announced retirement of Jean-Jacques Ruest as the Class I’s leader. Ruest will depart CN’s board on Feb. 28, but will serve as an adviser until March 31 to “ensure a seamless transition,” CN officials said.

CN yesterday announced Tracy Robinson will become its next president, CEO and a board member on Feb. 28.

Robinson’s appointment follows the previously announced retirement of Jean-Jacques Ruest as president and CEO. Ruest will depart CN’s board on Feb. 28, but remain at the railroad as an adviser until March 31 to ensure a seamless transition, CN officials said in a press release.

CN's British Columbia network productivity has returned to pre-washout levels as crews continue to return track to service following recent washouts in the province.

The British Columbia network was shut down between Nov. 14 and Dec. 4 as the Class I experienced 58 outages over 150 miles. Crews of 400 employees and contractors have been working 24/7 to restore service, according to a CN press release.

CN has been recognized for leadership in corporate sustainability by global environmental nonprofit CDP, the Class I announced today.

CN was recognized for its actions to cut emissions, mitigate climate risks and help develop a low-carbon economy, based on the data the company reported through CDP’s 2021 climate change questionnaire.

CN yesterday announced Jean-Jacques "JJ" Ruest will retire as president and CEO and as a board member at the end of January 2022 or a later time when a successor is appointed.

Ruest has been with CN for over 25 years and served as CEO since 2018.

Long-term shareholders CIFF Capital UK LP and The Children's Investment Master Fund, acting by their investment manager TCI Fund Management Ltd., yesterday confirmed they will nominate four independent directors to CN's board at the company's special meeting of shareholders on March 22, 2022.

Those candidates are:
• Gilbert Lamphere, a railroad executive with 40 years of experience in the industry. Lamphere has been a board member of several public and private railroad companies.
• Allison Landry, currently an independent director on the board of XPO Logistics Inc. Landry previously spent 16 years as an equity research analyst at Credit Suisse specializing in the railroad, trucking, airfreight and logistics industries.
• Rob Knight, former chief financial officer of Union Pacific Railroad, a position he held for 15-years. During Knight's 40-year tenure at UP, he held a variety of senior executive positions, including general manager of the company's energy and automotive businesses.
• Paul Miller, an expert in transportation, logistics, safety management and regulatory affairs and a former executive at CN from 1978-2011. During his 33-year career at the company, Miller held leadership roles in operations, marketing and planning. He retired as CN's vice president of safety, sustainability and network transportation in 2011.

The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) recently named CN the winner of the 2021 Dr. William W. Hay Award for Excellence for the New McComb Bonnet Carre Spillway Bridge project in Louisiana.

The award honors the memory of William Walter Hay, a longtime AREMA contributor and professor of railway civil engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Each year, the association bestows the award to projects that best illustrate safety, innovation and service performance reliability.

CN today responded to what it describes as “numerous misleading claims and inconsistencies” in recent disclosures by CIFF Capital and TCI Fund Management (collectively TCI), a major shareholder of CN.

In a press release, CN officials said TCI has a “glaring conflict of interest” as the largest shareholder of Canadian Pacific, which is CN’s direct competitor. CN highlighted what it says are TCI’s “erroneous” claims, including:
• false or misleading characterizations of CN’s performance;
• inaccurate description of financial risks associated with CN’s bid for Kansas City Southern and refusal to acknowledge that CN walked away with an incremental $700 million amongst other strategic benefits;
• failure to provide a credible or differentiated plan; and
• failure to acknowledge concerns over the fact that TCI is the largest shareholder of CN’s principal competitor.