Canadian rail transportation company, Canadian National Railway has advised investors and the media that it will seek "Legal Relief" with regard to it’s proposed purchase of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E).

Advised by the United States Steel Corporation, the current owner of the EJ&E Railroad, that the Pittsburgh based company does not intend to extend the Stock Purchase Agreement (SPA) for the transaction beyond the end of December, and with no fixed timetable forthcoming from the Surface Transportation Board (STB) regarding the proposed acquisition of EJ&E, Canadian National (CN) will now pursue Legal Relief so that the company can extend a deadline for the purchase that was set for late September.

Hunter Harrison, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian National,  expressed frustration with the uncertainty surrounding the proposed purchase, saying that it was in the public interest for the "STB to complete its review of the transaction," and that the transaction was in the "broader regional and national interest."

Harrison said of the application for Legal Relief that Canadian National had "contacted U. S. Steel last week to formally request an extension of the deadline," and that the United States Steel Corporation was "prepared to cooperate with CN towards the goal of closing the transaction in 2008, but it will not agree to extend the SPA." "Therefore," added Harrison "we need a decision in this case, and we have decided to seek legal relief to allow CN to close on the transaction prior to December 31, 2008."

Canadian National has advised that the company intends to provide more detail in the near future on the request for Legal Relief, and that in the meantime, the company would continue to to work with affected communities along the EJ&E line in an effort to reach voluntary mitigation agreements and address environmental concerns associated with increased train traffic on the EJ&E line.

Source: Marketwire and Canadian National Railway

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