FOR RELEASE	Contact: Dennis Watson
10/03/2002 (Thursday)	(202) 565-1596
No. 02-41	FIRS 1 (800) 877-8339
	www.stb.gov

Surface Transportation Board Grants "Canadian National's" Request for Elimination of Certain Reporting Related to the Agency's Monitoring of "Canadian National-Wisconsin Central" Rail Merger

Surface Transportation Board (Board) Chairman Linda Morgan announced today that the Board's Director of the Office of Compliance and Enforcement (OCE Director) has approved the Canadian National Railway Company's (CN) request for the elimination of its required filing of weekly operational monitoring reports containing data related to the implementation of the merger of CN and the Wisconsin Central Transportation Company (WC). As a condition imposed by the Board in its September 7, 2001 decision approving that merger, the Board required reporting for an initial, one-year period (beginning October 9, 2001) that could be extended or reduced at the discretion of the OCE Director. The reduced reporting becomes effective after CN's submission of required reporting for the month of October 2002.

Chairman Morgan noted the smooth implementation of the CN-WC merger. The Chairman also noted that, as stated in CN's request, publicly available operational data will continue to be filed weekly as part of reporting by Class I railroads (the Nation's largest) through the Association of American Railroads, and that CN will place such information on its website. CN also will continue to file periodic updates with the Board relative to information technology and customer service matters, as appropriate, and relative to CN's involvement with the Chicago Planning Group and the Chicago Transportation Coordination Office so that issues affecting the Chicago terminal will continue to receive necessary attention.

The request for Board elimination of CN's reporting requirement and the OCE Director's letter granting that request are available for public inspection in the correspondence section of the case entitled Canadian National Railway Company, Grand Trunk Corporation, and WC Merger Sub, Inc.--Control--Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation, Wisconsin Central Ltd., Fox Valley & Western Ltd., Sault Ste. Marie Bridge Company, and Wisconsin Chicago Link Ltd., STB Finance Docket No. 34000, in the Board's Docket File Room, Room 755, on the 7th Floor of the Board's headquarters in the Mercury Building, 1925 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. CN's request letter and the Board's letter of approval are available for viewing and downloading on the Board's website, at www.stb.dot.gov. , by clicking "Mergers & Acquisitions" on the home page, then "CN/WC Operational Monitoring Reports" when the next screen appears.

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