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Filing under Rule 425
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Filer: Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation
Companies that are subject to the filing:
Canadian National Railway Company
North American Railways, Inc.
Registration Statement No. 333-94397
[CN LOGO] [BNSF LOGO]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BMWE Is Fourth Employee Group to Back CN/BNSF Combination
After Negotiating Labor Pact with The Two Railroads
MONTREAL, FORT WORTH, Texas, and SOUTHFIELD, Mich., June 9, 2000 - The
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWE), Canadian National Railway
Company (TSE: CNR; NYSE: CNI) (CN) and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation
(NYSE: BNI) (BNSF) announced today the BMWE's support for the CN/BNSF
combination after the two railroads reached a job-protection agreement with the
union.
The BMWE represents more than 8,000 employees on BNSF and 4,230 on CN.
BMWE President Mac A. Fleming said: "We are pleased to back the CN/BNSF
combination after negotiating an agreement that will protect the interests of
our members after the combination takes effect. CN and BNSF should be commended
for their forward-looking approach to labor relations in their proposed
combination.
"The BMWE will actively support the CN/BNSF combination and will take
appropriate action before all relevant forums to convey that support."
CN President and Chief Executive Officer Paul M. Tellier and BNSF Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer Robert D. Krebs welcomed the BMWE's support and said
further agreements are being sought with the carriers' other rail unions.
The BMWE is the fourth employee group to back the CN/BNSF combination. The
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, representing 7,000 BNSF locomotive
engineers and 2,600 train service and rail traffic control employees at CN in
the United States and Canada, announced its support for the combination March 6,
2000, after negotiating an agreement with the two carriers. The Illinois Central
Train Dispatchers' Association and Illinois Central System Yardmasters'
Association also support the combination.
CN and BNSF have made a series of commitments to the BMWE. The principal ones
are:
. No movement or utilization of BMWE-represented personnel across international
borders by CN/BNSF unless agreed to by BMWE;
. No major downsizing of the BMWE-represented work force as a result of the
combination in the United States or Canada;
-more-
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BMWE Backs CN/BNSF Combination / Page 2
. No consolidation of seniority districts or collective bargaining agreements
except at 13 terminal points;
. Ten years' standard rail industry employee protection benefits to BMWE
members who are adversely affected by the combination;
. Ten years of employment security benefits for all Canada-based, BMWE-
represented employees in active service and affected by technological,
operational or organizational change as a result of the combination;
. A liberal moving benefit package.
CN and BNSF announced their proposed combination through a new company, North
American Railways, Inc., on Dec. 20, 1999. The combination will create a rail
system stretching 50,000 miles, linking eight Canadian provinces and 33 states
in the western and central United States, and employing 67,000 people. The
combined system will offer North American rail shippers greatly expanded single-
line service options and gateway choices; a coordinated marketing plan; reduced
transit times; enhanced reliability; unified customer service information,
including easier tracking, tracing and ordering; simplified billing; greater
capacity; and improved asset utilization.
Comprehensive information about the CN/BNSF combination is available at a new
Web site, www.cn-bnsfcombination.com.
Through its subsidiary, The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company,
BNSF, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, operates one of the largest rail
networks in North America, with 33,500 route miles of track covering 28 states
and two Canadian provinces.
Canadian National Railway Company 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 key cities of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, St. Louis,
and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America.
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BMWE Backs CN/BNSF Combination / Page 3
CN and North American Railways, Inc. have filed a registration statement on Form
F-4/S-4 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in
connection with the securities to be issued in the combination. This filing also
includes the proxy statement for the shareholders' meeting to be held for
approval of the combination. Investors should read this document and other
documents filed with the SEC by CN, BNSF and North American Railways, Inc. about
the combination, because they contain important information. These documents may
be obtained for free at the SEC Web site, www.sec.gov, or the Web site of the
Canadian Securities Administrators, www.sedar.com. Other filings made by CN on
forms 40-F and 6-K and CN's annual information form may be obtained for free
from the CN Corporate Secretary at (514) 399-6569. Other filings made by BNSF on
forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K may be obtained for free from the BNSF Corporate
Secretary at (817) 352-6856. For information concerning participants in CN's
solicitation of proxies for approval of the combination, see "Certain
Information Concerning Participants" filed by CN under Rule 14a-12. For
information concerning participants in BNSF's solicitation of proxies for
approval of the combination, see "Certain Information Concerning Participants"
filed by BNSF on Schedule 14A under Rule 14a-12.
# # #
CN contact: BNSF contact: BMWE contact:
Mark Hallman Dick Russack Don Griffin
(416) 217-6390 (817) 352-6425 (202) 638-2135, ext. 15
