CN's Optional Services Tariff Effective July 1, 2006

Effective July 1, 2006, CN will be changing the provisions of the optional services tariff covering extended asset use (demurrage) as well as empty private railcar storage agreements for Edmonton and Sarnia yards.

The CN is implementing a new “straight plan” asset use program which will apply universally to all customers. The CN says that the straight plan will simplify the reconciliation of invoices and reduce payment disputes.

In simple terms, customers will have one “free day” for the use of railroad equipment. This free day will begin at 00:01 (midnight) the day after the railcar is made available. After that, a fee will apply for the use of the assets. The daily per railcar fee is being reduced from the current $75 per day to $60 per day for railroad equipment and from the current $50 per day to $40 per day for private railcars.

Customers using private railcars (loaded or empty), including those with private empty railcar storage agreements at Edmonton and Sarnia, will join the straight plan program.

Customers with assigned pools of railcars will retain four free days for use of the equipment before fees will apply. As the CN fine-tunes the asset use program, the number of free days will be re-assessed. The fees for loaded railcars containing hazardous materials/dangerous goods will remain exactly the same as in the past.

The summary of revisions and amendments at the end of tariff CN 9000-G – Supplement 1 highlights all recent updates to the tariff and is available on the CN website at http://www.cn.ca/optionalservices.