Canadian National Announces Major Backing for 1999 Pan Am Games -- CN to Transport Pan Am Flame From Mexico City to Winnipeg.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 29, 1999--

Canadian National (ME:CNR.) (TSE:CNR.) (NYSE:CNI) announced today significant corporate support for the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg this summer.

CN will build the cauldron in which the Pan Am Games flame will burn and will transport it to Winnipeg from Mexico City. CN will also provide the Games -- to be held between July 23 and August 8 -- with equipment, freight services and facilities.

"I am extremely proud, on behalf of all CN employees, but particularly those based in Winnipeg, to announce CN's support for the Pan Am Games," said Peter Marshall, CN's Winnipeg-based Vice-President, Prairie Division. "CN has a significant presence in this community, and the Games are an excellent opportunity for us to participate in an event that will showcase Winnipeg and Manitoba to the world."

CN's support for the Games includes

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--   Moving equipment by rail to Winnipeg from throughout North
     America;

--   Office space for Games staff in CN's offices at 433 Main Street;

--   Supplying intermodal containers at 30 Games locations;

--   A staging and construction area at the railroad's TransconaShop
     for Games equipment, such as temporary grandstands;

--   Construction of the cauldron in which the Pan Am Games flame will
     burn between July 23 and August 8, and

-    Sponsoring the movement of the Pan Am Games Flame from Mexico
     City to Winnipeg, beginning June 23 in Mexico City.

"Moving the flame to Winnipeg from Mexico City is a natural for CN," said Marshall. "CN, through its pending merger with the Illinois Central Corporation and existing marketing alliance with IC and Kansas City Southern Railway Company, reaches as far south as Mexico City. The Mid-Continent Trade Corridor extending south from Winnipeg is one of CN's primary markets."

The Pan Am Games flame will travel through Jackson, Miss., Memphis, Tenn., and Chicago, as well as through several major Canadian cities on its way to Winnipeg. On the days immediately preceding the Games' opening ceremonies on July 23, the flame will visit Manitoba communities before runners carry the torch through the streets of Winnipeg. Details about the Manitoba flame tour and run will be announced nearer the start of the Games.

"Many CN employees will contribute their time and expertise to the Games," said Marshall. "We are all anticipating an exciting summer and a successful Games."

Canadian National Railway Company serves all of Canada and the U.S. Midwest, including the ports of Vancouver, Montreal, Halifax and the key cities of Toronto, Chicago, Detroit and Buffalo, with connections to all points in North America.