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WHO we are,

WHAT we do,

HOW we do it

WHO We Are,

WHAT We Do,

HOW We Do It

Investors Edition – 2013

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NEW SERVICES

Embedded in Everything We Do

CN is an incredibly sophisticated organization and running it is

a hugely complex job. With its 34,000 kilometres of mainline

tracks, 13 major yards, 14 intermodal terminals, 70,000 railcars,

1,800 locomotives and 22,000 employees, CN moves more than

4.7 million carloads annually and generates over $9 billion in

annual revenues.

To make it all happen, CN harnesses the power of information

every minute of every day to make better decisions. From

analyzing the repair history on a heavy-haul locomotive to

orchestrating the safe movement of traffic across our network,

almost every aspect of CN’s business relies on technology.

From Selling our Service to Invoicing

At CN, technology comes early in the shipping process. In fact,

it comes right when a customer decides to ship goods with us.

Whether he’s looking to ship carload or intermodal, the customer

has access to an extensive suite of electronic tools to plan and

optimize his transportation solutions.

Once the customer has placed an order through Electronic Data

Interchange (EDI) or CN’s eBusiness Internet tools, these systems

create a document called the waybill, which provides details

and instructions relating to the shipment such as what the load

is and where it is going. The waybill then synchronizes with CN’s

operational systems to create the shipment itinerary and service

scheduling.

After the route has been established, the train is assembled using

various leading-edge technologies to determine the weight of

each car, length of train, horsepower needed for each locomotive

and so on. Based on crew management and scheduling systems,

a train crew is simultaneously assigned to move the train.

Before a train departs, all kinds of powerful technologies, which

are designed to ensure that the equipment is safe and reliable

at all times, are employed. Whether it’s to inspect or repair cars,

tracks or locomotives, again, technology plays a central role in

all CN’s maintenance activities.

During its journey, the train will constantly be monitored, scanned

and tracked to make sure it arrives at destination safely and on

time. Tracks and other trains in the surrounding area are also

monitored at all times to prevent any disruption in rail traffic.

Once the shipment has arrived safely at destination, revenues

must be collected, managed, disbursed to suppliers and

shareholders, invested in new railcars and locomotives, and

so on. Dozens of systems are in place to help the various

functions across the company whose role is to support CN’s

core operations.

Technology: A Serious Business at CN

While it is primarily used in every step of moving a train,

technology is equally critical for all support functions across the

company. This is why CN invests around $100 million each year

on information technology to improve the efficiency and reliability

of its operations.

Using a wide variety of technologies, we build efficiency into

every train we assemble, enabling our employees to work smarter

and, ultimately, deliver more to our customers. We have some of

the best business solutions and continue to lead the industry in

the use of technology to manage our network.

At CN, technology is not only embedded in everything we do.

It’s what enables us to move trains safely and create value for

our customers.

The Role of Technology at CN

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NEW SERVICES

Our Six Principles

The following principles guide IT in day-to-day decision-making,

governance, and service delivery. Each of the six principles drives

objectives to maximize IT’s contribution to business success.

1 - Use business value to drive all IT investments

Our first principle aims at enhancing investment decisions

for optimal alignment with enterprise goals and maximum value

creation. The main objective is to increase understanding and

transparency of costs, risks and benefits to make effective

investment decisions.

2 - Position CN to become a true supply chain enabler

Our department is currently adapting its architecture, systems,

and delivery methods to provide end-to-end visibility and

collaboration for the management of customer shipments across

multiple supply chain partners. The objective is to build a flexible

architecture that can sustain business demand across multiple

supply channels, and adapt our technical maturity levels to those

of our stakeholders.

3 - Become brokers of information, applications and services

IT must extend its service offering in order to become an end-to-

end business solution provider covering all components of the

solution delivery process. By extending our capabilities to support

management of increased solution diversity and delivering in

the most efficient and cost effective way possible, IT will become

the broker of choice for its business partners.

4 - Provide solutions to support workforce enablement

IT’s role is to design solutions that support a self-serve workforce

and encourage employee and customer autonomy. To make this

happen, we plan to deliver solutions as mobile as the people

who use them and establish a flexible architecture focused on

securing the data and applications, not just the device.

5 - Develop roles and capabilities required to ensure success

Identify and develop critical IT roles required to sustain and grow

our business capabilities, and align them to IT services and CN

lines of business. We want to attract, engage, and retain versatile

employees by focusing on competencies and skills, increasing

training, and fostering innovation.

6 - Apply a risk-based approach to service delivery

The goal with this last principle is to make sure we adapt our

service delivery approach based on a consistent assessment of

risks. The department will also adopt alternate delivery methods

– such as iterative, cloud – and provide options based on risks,

costs and value profiles, avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach.

The Six Principles That Guide Our Decisions

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NEW SERVICES

Enabling our Partners to Succeed

The Business Transformation and Solutions team is the first point

of contact in IT for all CN internal departments. The group is

composed of three sub-teams: Business Solutions Management,

Business Analysts team and Business Transformation Services.

Business Solutions Management

With deep knowledge of CN’s business areas and a good sense

of technology trends, the Business Solutions Management team

works very closely with business partners (IT customers) to

identify and develop opportunities to leverage technologies in

order to improve their business and enable them to succeed.

The Business Solutions Managers (BSM) are the voice of the

business partners in IT throughout the entire project. In colla-

boration with CN Financial Planning and the business partners,

the BSMs define the capital budget for the following year and

determine what projects will go forward based on the best return

on investment for the company.

They are also responsible for ensuring that for a new opportunity,

the business requirements and benefits are properly documented

to support a sound business case. They are in charge of comple-

ting the documentation to support the Approval for Expenditure

(AFE) process and ensure that finance confirmation is obtained

throughout the process to release funds for all new initiatives.

Business Analysts

The Business Analysts team’s role is to carry over the initiative

when it is officially an IT project or, more precisely, when the

Assessment and Planning (A&P) phase begins.

Business Analysts (BA) are not assigned to every IT project. Their

involvement varies based on several factors such as complexity,

risk, length of the project and the level of involvement from the

business partner.

During Assessment and Planning, the Business Analyst details

the requirements with the business partners and works with

architects to define the solution. Throughout the project, he

manages the communication between IT and the business

partners, ensuring that the IT project teams understand the

business requirements, and that partners have a good

comprehension of the complexity and challenges associated

with technologies involved.

Business Transformation Services

The Business Transformation Services team, commonly referred

to as BTS, can be viewed as an internal consulting organization

that extends the traditional IT service offering. The team’s

approach is to look at the business processes and the roles and

responsibilities first, then analyze the technologies supporting

it all. The team offers a broad range of services including

business improvement, opportunity identification, business

process optimization, facilitation of workshops, change

acceleration and value management.

The Business Optimization Specialists usually get involved

when business partners face a business problem, even before a

technology need or an opportunity is identified. The goal is to

scope the business problem in a project statement and define

opportunities for optimization. They can also help implementing

the recommendations if requested by business partners.

Business Development

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NEW SERVICES

Creating a Culture of Innovation

At CN IT, innovation is at the heart of everything we do.

To support employee innovation, the Innovation Services team

has put in place a program that opens the door for IT people to

translate their creative thinking into tangible innovations.

Employees can share their ideas with the team through any of

the program’s four innovation channels:

Individual: IT employees who have innovative ideas can directly

share them with the Innovation Services team. Ideas are then

analyzed and validated, and if it’s something that has potential,

the team will offer support and possibly micro funding to test

and prototype the idea.

Business Solutions Management team: The Innovation Services

team also partners with the BSM team to identify business

opportunities where IT could deliver more value by doing things

differently and use a non-traditional solution delivery approach.

Group thinking: The team holds frequent group-thinking sessions

where a number of employees gather to generate ideas and

determine if they are worth devoting time and energy. These

sessions aren’t exclusive to IT people, and are intended for any

CN employee who has a keen interest in innovation.

Islands of innovation: This concept consists of building a

community of employees from various areas of IT who will put

a plan together to evaluate an innovation in a certain area and

undertake a Proof of Concept (POC). One of our current islands

of innovation is the cloud-based infrastructure concept, where a

group of employees from key areas of IT will evaluate the new

technology and assess where we could leverage it.

An innovation can come from any of the above channels. What

is important for the Innovation Services team is really to let IT

employees know that they have a place to go with innovative

ideas, and opportunities to participate in learning how to do

things differently.

Innovative Ways to Deliver Value

Out of the four innovation channels, the team identified a number

of projects where they believed an innovative and non-standard

solution delivery approach could add more value to the business.

Here are two concrete examples:

Marketing approached the Innovation Services team to discuss

the possibility of developing a rich mobile application that would

enable CN customers to track and trace their shipment through

their iPhone or iPad. Because CN IT had no expertise or

experience in Apple/iOS mobile development, the team partnered

with a local firm to build the app and guide them through the

various steps of publishing an app on iTunes.

The Innovation Services team put all the pieces together and

delivered a modern-looking app that also contains information

and videos about CN, and integrates our map-based job

postings. The app has been downloaded thousands of times

since its implementation in early 2012, and currently processes

over 1,000 track and trace transactions every day.

Another success story is the tablet-based training for Conductors.

CN Operations were looking for ways to make their training

content more interactive for CN’s largest population of new hires.

The team helped them develop dynamic training content on a

tablet. As it turned out, this new intuitive tool completely

transformed the training course into a fully interactive experience,

thanks to the inclusion of 3D models, simulations, videos, games

and more.

Trainees are not only more engaged, but they also tend to have

better scores at exams because they absorb information in a more

intuitive way. Instructors also love the new tool since it provides

them with metrics highlighting where students are struggling,

which enables them to be proactive in helping students succeed.

Innovation Services

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Turning Data Into Information

Business Intelligence (BI) is comprised of the processes, tools

and technologies required to turn data into the information and

knowledge that drive fact-based decision-making and business

process management.

In many ways, BI is to data what a refinery is to oil. Similar to

how crude oil is extracted, refined and blended into products

such as asphalt and gasoline, BI extracts raw data from a

multitude of sources and turns it into information products.

In fact, with society transitioning from an industrial to infor-

mation economy, data is being referred by many as the new oil.

CN’s Business Intelligence Ecosystem

At the heart of our BI ecosystem is the Data Warehouse

(DW) which serves as a centralized enterprise information

repository. Data from transactional operating systems such as

Service Reliability Strategy (SRS), Revenue Management System

(RMS) and SAP is extracted, transformed and loaded each night

into the data warehouse for business users to access and utilize.

Typically, managers and executives use scorecards, dashboards

and reports like DataCity and Intermodal Performance Measures

(IPM) to monitor processes and take action when metrics are

trending poorly, while Business Analysts use tools like Business

Objects (BO) and Business Warehouse (BW) to do root-cause

analysis, test hypotheses or uncover patterns.

CN IT’s BI team is made up of a number of practices whose role

are to build and manage the data integration of the reporting and

analysis environments.

Data Modeling manages the models that represent logical views

of business activities in a specific area such as accounting, HR,

repairs, shipments and crew.

Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) manages the batch jobs that

apply the logic necessary to integrate data from multiple sources

into the models.

Business Objects (BO) and Microsoft BI both manage the

applications and tools that provide users with access to the

information for reporting and analysis.

Business Warehouse manages the data warehouse that is used

for SAP applications, which is also called Business Warehouse or

BW. This data warehouse differs from all the others since the ETL,

data modelling, reporting and querying are all managed in one,

dedicated application.

Geographical Information System (GIS) is a specialized form of BI

that supports the visualization and analysis of spatial information

of CN’s network in a way that is very similar to Google Earth.

The delivery of new BI solutions or enhancements to existing

ones is managed by BI Delivery. The delivery process starts with

the logging and prioritization of requests, and follows with a

detailed analysis of the business objectives and the information

necessary to support them. The work is then organized into

sprints and delivered using an agile/scrum approach of

incremental and iterative development, with resources and

architectural direction provided by the other BI practices.

The success of Business Intelligence depends on the partnership

between IT and business users to ensure the information

generates actionable insights that have a meaningful impact.

BI/DW by the Numbers

5,000 nightly ETL batch jobs.

300 business processes (models).

20,000 reports.

1,500 BW & BO users.

3,000 DataCity users.

Business Intelligence

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In Every Corner of CN’s Business

As seen previously in this document, CN IT is involved in almost

every corner of CN’s business. Below is a brief list of the major

business initiatives currently underway. Of course, we could’ve

listed more, but the following represent the main programs with

significant IT involvement.

CustomerFIRST

One of CN’s key objectives is to transform into a more customer-

centric company. To improve dialogue with its customers and

continuously raise the bar in terms of service, CN put in place

the CustomerFIRST program. Comprised of many initiatives, the

program aims at engaging customers and partnering with them

to improve some of our key processes.

Since the program’s launch, CN IT has been involved in numerous

initiatives to improve many aspects of CN’s customer service,

notably by making the company’s car supply more efficient

(Evolution of Car Management) and increasing reliability at the

most critical part of customers’ supply chain (First Mile/Last Mile).

Training Excellence Program

CN’s employee demographics will continue to drive a significant

demand on hiring in the upcoming years. These new employees

represent a younger workforce with different learning styles and

work expectations. Therefore, it is vital for the company to

connect with them early in their CN career.

The Training Excellence Program aims at revitalizing training to

support the learning needs of our existing workforce as well as

our new railroaders. CN IT is involved in many different initiatives

to support the program, whether it is by developing new tools

for onboarding or enabling innovative training solutions such as

tablet-based training courses.

Positive Train Control

Positive Train Control (PTC) is a U.S. Government regulated

initiative for railroads to mitigate potentially catastrophic events

caused by human error. As the name suggests, PTC will control

the breaking of the train should the Locomotive Engineer fail to

respond to a condition requiring a reduction in speed.

The objective of PTC is to prevent train-to-train collisions, over-

speed derailments, train incursions into established work zone

limits, and train movements through improperly lined switches.

This program is mandated to be complete by December 31,

2015, in the U.S. At CN, we will install PTC systems along

approximately 4,300 miles of mainline track in the U.S.

Fuel Management Excellence

Fuel represents one of CN’s largest expenses each year. Although

rail is the most energy-efficient method of moving freight, this

level of fuel consumption also means significant greenhouse gas

(GHG) emissions. To improve fuel efficiency, CN initiated the

Fuel Management Excellence (FMX) program a few years ago.

The program aims at driving both fuel efficiency and environ-

mental benefits. CN IT is involved in the FMX program in various

ways, including putting in place a new inventory management

solution and modernizing the hardware and software to capture

fuel measurements accurately.

Transportation Renewal

Kicked off in 2008, the TR program aims at replacing CN’s core

mainframe transportation systems with more intuitive, integrated

midrange applications. Renewal projects to date include the new

Locomotive Management System (LMS), CrewTalk Interactive

Voice Response, SmartYard, and the recently delivered new

business capabilities in Right-Time Business Intelligence (RTBI).

Much has changed and many lessons have been learned over

the last five years. The next phase (TR 2.0) reflects a much longer

expected lifespan for mainframe technologies (10 years+) so we

have the time to allow business value, not just technology, to

drive the priority and sequencing of the next wave of TR projects.

Intermodal Dispatch Excellence

Intermodal remains one of CN’s fastest growing and most

profitable lines of business. In support of that growth, CN

launched the Intermodal Dispatch Excellence (IMDX) program

to modernize order management, truck driver payments, safety

and compliance, and the centrepiece of truck dispatching.

These projects are well underway and will be deployed within

the next two years.

Lead-To-Cash

This program aims at improving CN’s interactions with its

customers by better connecting what we sell to our customers

with the services delivered and the revenues collected. It

complements TR 2.0 as it will allow CN to retire other legacy

mainframe systems (SRS Waybill, RMS, etc.), move financial

processes out of the core transportation systems, and improve

CN’s supply chain enablement capabilities.

North American Class 1 railways are working together with

selected shippers and SAP to define and implement an integrated

application solution architecture that covers the Lead-To-Cash

business processes.

Current Business Initiatives

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What Information Security Means at CN

By definition, information security means protecting corporate

information regardless of the form that it is in – paper or

electronic documents as well as voice conversation.

As CN’s business continues to grow and evolve, the need to

share information and integrate various technologies is more

present than ever before. This includes sharing more information

to make it easier for customers to do business with us, collabo-

rating with other railways to improve service, and working with

suppliers to maintain the safety and integrity of our rail traffic

systems.

While this sharing of business information and technology is

essential to delivering on our corporate objectives, it also requires

a delicate balance to ensure that the availability, integrity and

confidentiality of our information remain well protected. CN’s

Information Security Program is designed to keep our information

assets safe by ensuring that employee, customer and partner

information is adequately protected, and that we comply with

laws, contractual obligations and audit requirements.

Corporate Information Security Unit

The Corporate Information Security Unit (CISU) manages CN’s

Information Security program through policies, standards, risk

assessments, awareness, incident responses and investigations.

The team’s mission is to improve CN’s overall posture in the

information security and risk management fields by helping

decision-makers to make informed decisions regarding CN’s

information assets.

The Information Security Program is comprised of the following

components:

The Information Security Policies provide a set of common

practices built on two pillars: ensuring that employees are

aware of their responsibilities in protecting CN’s information,

and establishing sufficient controls to protect vital business

information.

The Information Security Awareness Campaign represents a

significant part of the program because many attack types rely

on human intervention to succeed. CN employees are the first

line of defense when it comes to security.

The Information Risk Management Practice helps identify, assess

and manage information security risks within CN in order to

ensure the information and business operations are adequately

protected.

The Incident Response Process assists various departments like

CN Police, Legal, Internal Audit and HR in collecting and

processing electronic forensic evidence. Through the interaction

with other IT areas this process ensures our systems are protected

against cyber incidents.

The Regulatory and Compliance Process manages the compliance

to CN’s information security policies and standards, the IT SOX

program and, through contacts in the rail industry and govern-

ment agencies, monitors any additional regulatory and privacy

regulation requirements for information security.

Information Security

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NEW SERVICES

What is Disaster Recovery?

Power blackouts, ice storms, floods and terrorist events –

nowadays the list of potentially business-disrupting events

seems endless. Because companies like CN rely on their

information systems as a critical part of their operations,

protecting irreplaceable data and ensuring quick recovery

in the event of a disaster has never been more important.

Disaster Recovery – or DR as it is commonly referred to – is

the process an organization uses to recover access to their

software, data and IT infrastructure that are needed to

resume the performance of normal, critical business functions

after a natural or human-induced disaster. The Disaster Recovery

Plan (DRP) is a set of processes, policies and procedures that

describe how an organization is to deal with potential disasters.

While business continuity involves planning for keeping all

aspects of a business functioning in the midst of disruptive

events, disaster recovery focuses on the IT or technology

systems that support business functions.

How it Would Impact CN

In the event of a disaster, CN could suffer a major impact.

Depending on the criticality of the situation, CN could eventually

be forced to dramatically slow down or halt its operations,

disrupting the flow of traffic and seriously affecting CN customers.

In short, any type of disaster presents risks to our operations.

A simple outage had huge consequences in CN’s Brampton

Intermodal Terminal in 2010.

In any kind of disaster, our number one priority is to restore

critical operational systems (SRS, eBusiness, etc.) within 8 hours.

Our second priority is to recover critical administrative systems

like SAP within a 72-hour window. Once all critical systems have

been successfully recovered, the team continues to work until

all applications and systems impacted by the disaster are fully

operational.

Our Readiness Strategy

Not all disaster recovery situations are major catastrophes.

However, even a small water leakage can have adverse

consequences. This is why CN places the highest importance

on disaster recovery and put a strong DR plan in place to make

sure that we are ready to face any type of disaster.

To minimize the impact of a potential disaster, all CN’s operating

systems, applications and data are protected in many different

ways. The most important one is the mirror copy of all critical

data that reside in Montreal HQ. The copy is being kept off-site

by CN IT’s availability services provider. When a disaster occurs,

our provider initiates the recovery, and our infrastructure teams

perform all recovery and data preparation activities. Once the

recovery is completed, our various application teams test the

interfaces and connectivity. All DR recovery and test scripts are

documented and kept off-site.

CN puts its disaster recovery plan to test twice per year: a

simulation is usually conducted around the month of April

and an audited certification in October. Both tests take place

in Montreal and involve close to 250 employees from several

IT areas such as Mainframe, Midrange, Access Management,

Service Desk, and several others.

DR at CN: It’s Everyone’s Business

Having an efficient disaster recovery plan in place doesn’t mean

that we can all sit back and relax. Everyone in IT has a role to

play in CN’s DR success. It’s critical that our documentation is

constantly up-to-date, that our personal contact information in

SAP is current, and that we take DR into consideration for all

new projects or enhancements. Remember, DR must be part of

our everyday job.

Disaster Recovery at CN

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An Impressive Array of Systems

Our department supports more than 300 CN systems and

applications, all varying in size and criticality. All these

systems and applications are mapped to one of the following

five functions to support CN’s activities:

1. Plan our Business.

2. Sell our Service.

3. Deliver our Service.

4. Collect for our Service.

5. Manage and Support our Business.

Five Functions to Support CN

The Plan our Business function includes capabilities that cover

the corporate responsibility for strategic long-term planning

and development of things such as service packages or target

markets/offerings in response to changing market conditions.

Examples of systems and applications contained in the Plan our

Business function are Intelligent Train Scheduler (ITS) and Route

Capacity Model (RCM).

The Sell our Service function is comprised of capabilities

responsible for following a business opportunity from lead to

acquisition and performing the analysis of delivery performance

to ensure our services are performed to the level of customer

agreements. Examples of systems and applications included in

the Sell our Service function are Facilitated Action Sales Tool

(FAST), Pricing and eBusiness.

The Deliver our Service function includes capabilities that are

responsible to deliver the level of service contracted with our

customers, while maintaining an efficient and cost effective

transportation network. Examples of systems and applications

included in the Deliver our Service function are Service Reliability

Strategy (SRS), SmartYard, Locomotive Management System (LMS)

and Crew Assignment and Timekeeping System (CATS).

The Collect for our Service function encompasses capabilities

that ensure accurate and responsive billing to and collection from

CN customers for services rendered. Examples of systems and

applications included in the Collect for our Service function are

Revenue Management System (RMS) and Interline Settlement

System (ISS).

Last but not least, the Manage and Support our Business function

is composed of capabilities responsible for corporate resource

management of people, places, assets, as well as financials, risk

management and vendor management. Examples of systems and

applications included in the Manage and Support our Business

function are SAP, Track Inspection System (TIS), CCID (Corporate

Customer Information Database) and DataCity.

CN’s Most Critical Systems

Providing an overview of each of CN’s 300-plus systems and

applications represents quite an arduous task. However, the next

few pages will provide you with a short description of more than

30 of the company’s most critical systems, accompanied with an

icon indicating in which function the system is mapped to.

Application Portfolio

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Application Portfolio (A-B)

Automated Gate System (AGS)

The Automated Gate System (AGS) is used to manage trucks entering and exiting

CN intermodal terminals across Canada and the U.S. It is currently installed in all key

terminals. It consists of various technology pieces such as an imaging portal, gate-

stand and sensors, all of which link to a central system controller application that

organizes the data and sends information back to OASIS.

As a truck enters the terminal, cameras record its movement and scanners identify the

equipment. The driver then identifies himself using a fingerprint scanner at the gate-

stand. The system verifies the information and, if valid, allows the driver into the

terminal.

Business-to-Business Tools

CN provides many electronic communication methods to its customers and partners in

order to exchange information with them. Methods vary from emails, fax, File Transfer

Protocol (FTP) and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).

CN’s primary exchange method is EDI, which are industry formatted messages to

exchange information between parties. CN supports a large variety of EDI such as

waybills, train consists, freight invoices and status updates. The information can be

exchanged between CN and its customers or partners such as other railways or ports.

For more information on CN’s EDI capabilities, please refer to the EDI guidelines

available on the corporate website.

Business Warehouse (BW)/Data Warehouse (DW) The Business Warehouse/Data Warehouse (BW/DW) is the enterprise repository of

information for reporting and data analysis. The BW/DW supports both strategic

decision-making and questions concerning day-to-day operations.

The information in the DW/BW is built from transactions recorded within our key

operating systems such as SAP, SRS and CATS. These transactions are the source of

the measures and key performance indicators that serve corporate and business unit

needs. BW/DW also hosts historical information for data mining and pattern analysis.

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Application Portfolio (C)

CrewTalk Interactive Voice Response (CrewTalk IVR)

Each month, CN’s Crew Management Centres handle some 270,000 inbound and

outbound calls. To reduce the amount of time Crew Dispatchers spend making

outbound calls and increase their availability to answer incoming calls, CN uses

the CrewTalk Interactive Voice Response (CrewTalk IVR) system.

Once Crew Dispatchers identify candidates requiring a call for service, they trigger

CATS to complete the call via CrewTalk. CrewTalk then auto-dials the employee’s

phone number and delivers a pre-recorded message using the employee’s name.

The system also provides running trade employees with a number of self-service

options such as getting information on their assignment and requesting a wake-up call.

Crew Assignment and Timekeeping System (CATS)

The Crew Assignment and Timekeeping System (CATS) is the primary tool used for

selecting and assigning train crews. It is a mainframe system developed to help Crew

Dispatchers make crew calling decisions, based on an analysis of the most up-to-date

information on every employee including the employee’s assignment location, type of

service, position and run number, seniority date, rest, etc. The system identifies and

selects the appropriate employee to be called for a particular job, based on the various

collective agreements.

Corporate Customer Information Database (CCID)

The Corporate Customer Information Database (CCID) is a mainframe system used to

store and manage master data information on customers such as locations, stations

and interchange points. It is a centralized storage area for many of the key data

elements used to operate the railway, and it sends critical information to systems

like SRS, RMS and eBusiness.

CCID includes interfaces to Railinc – a corporation providing rail data and information

technology services to the North American freight railway industry – which allow CN

to exchange data with other rail carriers to ensure we are all using the same master

data to simplify communication.

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Application Portfolio (C-D)

Centralized Traffic Control Systems

Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) systems are used in high-density rail traffic areas.

The systems are part of a whole suite of safety critical systems that Rail Traffic

Controllers use to facilitate the safe and efficient movement of trains as well as

manage the equipment on the mainline.

Train and track occupancies are visually displayed on a map where the Rail Traffic

Controllers can control switches and signals to regulate and manage train traffic flow.

Rail Traffic Control II (RTCII) is the system used in Canadian operations while Train

Management Dispatch System (TMDS) is used in U.S. territory. Both systems are

not supported by CN IT but by CN’s Signals and Communications (S&C) group and

external vendors.

DataCity

Built on top of CN’s Data Warehouse (DW), DataCity provides a single source

of management information for strategic decision-making on all aspects of the

company’s operations: service, asset utilization, safety, financial performance and

people. DataCity is an internal web-based portal providing access to over 200 reports

and key performance indicators based on the previous day’s data from more than

20 transactional systems.

The definition, source data, business rules and ownership of each measure is clearly

defined and agreed-upon across the company as definitive. There are measures for

Marketing, customers, all aspects of operations and service performance as well as

performance reports on profitability, financials, people, legal, regulatory and safety.

Dark Territory Control Systems

As opposed to CTC systems, the dark territory control systems are used in low-density

rail traffic areas. They assist Rail Traffic Controllers in managing locations where there

are no signals, no track circuits to show occupancy, and no office controls on the

switches.

Two systems are leveraged to support dark territory: Computer Assisted Manual

Blocking System (CAMBS) for Canadian operations and Train Management Dispatch

System (TMDS) for U.S. operations. Synonymously, Track Warrant is usually referred to

as U.S. dark territory control and Occupancy Control System (OCS) for Canadian dark

territory control. Systems mentioned here are not supported by CN IT but by CN’s

Signals and Communications (S&C) group and external vendors.

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Application Portfolio (E-F)

Facilitated Action Sales Tool (FAST)

The Facilitated Action Sales Tool (FAST) application is a Customer Relationship

Management tool that is used by Marketing to manage contacts, opportunities and

customer information. The system also provides extensive price creation and

management options to internal and external users.

FAST allows users to request price quotes for various CN services, manage customer

proposals, retrieve agreements on rates and allow joint pricing with other carriers.

Price quotes can also be requested via the CN website, which interfaces with FAST.

Fleet Productivity System (FPS)

The Fleet Productivity System (FPS) is a mainframe application managing all carload

(empty cars) fleet assets. It is primarily used by the Car Management Group to get

empty cars delivered to the right place at the right time for CN customers. The system

operates in conjunction with SRS to create and maintain Customer Car Orders (CCO)

and Guaranteed Customer Car Orders (GCO), which are commitments that CN has with

some customers to provide a certain number of cars of a certain type on a specific day.

FPS is also used to maintain pool information and disposition information for foreign

empties (cars owned by other railways) on CN lines. If the car can be used by CN, FPS

will automatically assign it to a customer as per Car Management’s instructions. If the

car can’t be used by CN, FPS will return it to its rightful owner.

eBusiness

Started as a simple electronic exchange of structured information between computers

in the early 2000s, eBusiness has since grown to extend into all aspects of the

business. Through its official website, CN has transformed eBusiness into a collection

of tools providing new and existing customers with access to everything they need

to do business with CN.

By using eBusiness, customers can look up prices, determine the route of their

shipment, look up transit times, send shipping instructions, order equipment, track

their shipment, manage invoices and payments, and so on. For more information,

visit the Customer Centre section on CN’s corporate website.

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Application Portfolio (G-I)

General Bulletin Order (GBO)

The General Bulletin Order (GBO) system is used to manage general bulletins that

trains must adhere to. These bulletins highlight track conditions, restrictions, slow

orders and other information that can affect the safety and movement of trains.

A Tabular General Bulletin Order (TGBO) is a document compiling all GBOs for a

specific train. A TGBO must accompany the Conductor and Engineer at all times on

a train, and no train departures are allowed without it. TGBO updates can be sent to

the train crew en route via radio through read and repeat process between the crew

and dispatcher. The U.S. has TGBO incorporated into TMDS and the Canadian

operations use an in-house system that is text-based.

Hump Process Control System (HPCS)

The Hump Process Control System (HPCS) is an application that controls and classifies

traffic in a hump yard. The system has two goals: deliver freight cars to assigned

classification tracks based on their destinations, and ensure that cars will arrive on

the classification track fast enough to reach the cars already on the track but slow

enough for safe coupling.

While achieving the above, HPCS protects personnel and cars moving through the

humping area, monitors and displays the status of the hump, records its own

operation while humping is in progress and collects data for detail analysis of

performance. CN is currently replacing HPCS with a third party solution known

as Classmaster 2, developed by Trainyard Tech.

Intermodal Excellence (IMX)

Intermodal Excellence – or IMX – is a reservation system similar to airline bookings.

All intermodal customers that deliver containers to CN terminals require a reservation

for a slot on the train. The IMX system allows customers to book slots ahead of time

based on their priority, equipment type, and origin/destination. The system provides

them with a reservation number that they can attach to a shipment coming into a CN

intermodal terminal.

In addition to train slot reservations, certain CN terminals also require a gate

appointment due to high volume. At locations where this is required, truckers can

access the online application to book slots to enter the terminal based on available

capacity.

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Application Portfolio (L-P)

Locomotive Management System (LMS)

Assigning the right locomotives with the right amount of total horsepower to haul

the train to its final destination is a critical part of train operations planning. The

Locomotive Management System (LMS) is an SAP-based system that facilitates the

locomotive allocation process by allowing employees to see all locomotives available

for assignment.

By interfacing with SmartYard, SRS, SAP and TOPC, LMS provides accurate information

about a locomotive’s location, trip status, estimated time of arrival and departure, and

maintenance schedule requirements. It also provides tools to manage the repositioning

of locomotives on a train, including details about a locomotive’s next assignment.

Pegasus

The Pegasus system allows Truck Dispatchers to manage the 850-plus trucks that

provide CN with pickup and delivery services across its network. The application

provides dispatchers with a view of all the shipments and empty containers to be

moved, along with the supply of drivers and their current assignments. Dispatchers are

able to plan drivers to move and update information which is then sent back to SRS.

Drivers also have a mobile device application called NorthStar that interfaces with

Pegasus. NorthStar receives all assignments from Pegasus and allows the driver to

update his activities in real-time.

OASIS

The Optimization Alternatives Strategic Intermodal Scheduler (OASIS) is an intermodal

terminal management and reporting system that manages the movement of containers

and chassis in CN intermodal terminals. The OASIS application allows users to view a

real-time inventory of all equipment in and in transit to the terminal, providing them

with the information required to develop optimal train loading and unloading plans.

OASIS also includes devices installed in all yard equipment (shunt trucks and cranes)

to feed assignments to the equipment operator and receive updates on activities.

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Application Portfolio (P)

Positive Train Control (PTC)

Positive Train Control (PTC) is a U.S. Government regulated initiative for railroads to

mitigate potentially catastrophic events caused by human error. It is a suite of

technologies that work in conjunction with existing methods of train operations,

designed to automatically stop a train before an accident occurs. It is designed to

prevent train-to-train collisions, derailment caused by excessive speeds, unauthorized

train entry into a section of track where repairs are being made, and the movement

of a train through a switch left in the wrong position.

PTC is composed of four major components: wayside technology, on-board locomotive

controls, back-office systems and communication networks. These components work

together to ensure a continuous flow of information from both wayside and back-office

systems to the on-board controls. PTC hasn’t been delivered yet and is currently at

various stages in the development life cycle.

Pricing

Pricing is an integrated database with over a dozen applications to manage, query and

publish freight and optional services contracts and tariffs. The Price Upload/Download,

Compass and Chess Capture are the main applications used to manage the contracts

and tariffs.

The Price Database Inquiry (PDI) and Chargeable Services Electronic Support System

(CHESS) applications provide extensive query access to the data. The Rate EDI Network

(REN) application sends and receives prices for interline authorities to and from other

railroads via REN central at Railinc – a corporation providing rail data and information

technology services to the North American freight railway industry.

Performance Monitoring and Rule Compliance (PMRC)

The Performance Monitoring and Rule Compliance (PMRC) system is designed to

support CN’s efficiency testing process and our drive for rules compliance. Efficiency

testing is conducted on employees involved in railroad operations to determine their

level of compliance with operating rules and procedures.

Through these efficiency tests, CN can eliminate accidents caused by human error,

maintain the employee’s focus on rules and compliance, and increase awareness

in problem areas. The efficiency test results are captured in the PMRC system as part

of the employee’s historical records and for follow-up.

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Application Portfolio (R)

Recruiting, Onboarding and

Employee Self-Services Applications The recruiting, onboarding and employee self-services applications are keys in the

renewal of the CN’s workforce. Approximately 2,000 employees will depart from

CN each year over the next five years. Therefore, Human Resources need to attract,

identify, and onboard new candidates in a compelling, efficient and consistent

manner in order to develop the best railroaders in the industry.

These applications vary from cloud-based solutions to on-premises solutions, and the

functionalities vary from applying to jobs, finding key information about the company,

and consulting policies. A key aspect of these applications is the ability to be used

internally or from the comfort of the employee’s home.

Right-Time Business Information (RTBI) The Right-Time Business Intelligence (RTBI) system provides a graphical view of the

CN network with near real-time information on trains and locomotives. Efficient and

intuitive navigation as well as search capabilities provide access to summary and

detailed information about CN’s key mobile assets.

The first release of RTBI displays the CN rail network and all its components with a

detailed accuracy, as well as right-time asset information on position and status of

both locomotives and trains. Release 2 components will include incidents, crew

information, car details and weather information.

Revenue Management System (RMS)

and Interline Settlement System (ISS) The Revenue Management System (RMS) is an integrated database mainframe system

that estimates and calculates revenue, controls invoicing to customers and supports

the collection of revenues associated with the movement of rail freight – local or

interline – and for revenue generated by optional services and similar activities.

It also supports the validation process for non-revenue billing and ensures that the

company revenue is protected when required. The Interline Settlement System (ISS)

distributes freight charges among the railways involved in CN’s interline shipments

based on divisions identified in the price.

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Application Portfolio (S)

Service Manager (SM)

Service Manager is a critical application for CN IT as it enables the department to

efficiently and effectively provide support services to the business. Designed by

Hewlett-Packard (HP), the system is used by different IT areas such as the Service

Desk, IT Operations and Application Support for various capabilities like incident

management, change management, configuration management and

IT Services.

Service Manager is also used by IT to manage all end-user equipment – desktops,

laptops, mobile devices, etc. A number of non-IT functions like Signals and

Communications (S&C) also use the application for managing incidents on signals

and wayside equipment.

SmartYard

SmartYard is a yard-management application that enables better asset utilization

in CN’s major switching yards. SmartYard takes information from various CN systems

like Service Reliability Strategy (SRS), combines the data, then provides the best

sequence for processing cars. The system assists CN’s yard employees in making

better decisions by helping them to anticipate and react to changing yard decisions.

By providing increased efficiencies, more predictability and better communication,

SmartYard lowers dwell time. As a result, it allows CN to handle bigger volumes of

traffic through its yards without additional capital investment in the physical plant.

SAP

Since 1999, SAP implementations have replaced over 250 legacy systems with a

single, integrated platform. The integration of SAP with CN’s operating systems has

also generated significant value in CN’s mergers and acquisitions by enabling rapid,

seamless integration of people, processes and information.

Following the success of SAP back-office systems such as Materials Management,

Financial Reporting, Time Reporting and Payroll, CN began implementing the platform

for the management of operational assets and processes including locomotives,

railcars, repair shops, freight claims, safety, engineering inventory, track maintenance,

safety and many others. More than 20 different SAP modules are currently leveraged

at CN, which is more than any other railway in the world.

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Application Portfolio (S-T)

Service Reliability Strategy (SRS)

The Service Reliability Strategy (SRS) system is a critical mainframe application

implemented at CN in the mid-90’s. SRS is the core Transportation system managing

and recording almost all aspects of rail service delivery. It provides integrated

information of transportation assets and services, allowing CN to manage both

shipment performance and operations efficiency. SRS is made up of four major

application components: SRS-Waybill, SRS-YIT (Yard Industry Train), SRS-Service

Scheduling and SRS-IM (Intermodal).

SRS interfaces with a large number of CN systems including SAP, Train Operations

Planning and Control (TOPC), Fleet Productivity System (FPS), SmartYard and many

others.

Track Inspection System (TIS)

The Track Inspection System (TIS) is an SAP-based mobile system that is used by

engineering employees to manage the track inspection process. It serves as an

integrated inspection and defect management platform for all engineering rail-related

assets, replacing a variety of stand-alone systems and paper-based reporting.

The system provides a territory dashboard to manage the track inspection process,

summarizes inspection status on that territory, and incorporates condition information

from both automated and visual inspections. It also helps to ensure CN’s regulatory

and environmental compliance. TIS is installed on a rugged laptop called Toughbook,

allowing employees to perform their work while in the field.

TOPC

Train Operations Planning and Control (TOPC) is a schematic graphical user interface

application. TOPC provides visibility by integrating train relevant information from SRS,

CATS, LMS and SmartYard to Rail Traffic Controllers, Network Operations Control (NOC)

and others. TOPC assists in the effective planning, monitoring and exception

management for train operations. It also helps Rail Traffic Controllers in the planning

and tracking of the return trip for away-from-home crew assignments.

Some components of TOPC will soon be replaced by the Right-Time Business

Intelligence (RTBI) system.

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Application Portfolio (T-W)

Track Occupancy Request Systems

Track occupancy request systems are automated capabilities for Engineering Foreman

to request an authority to occupy mainline track in order to perform their duties. Two

track occupancy request systems are being used at CN: Employee in Charge (EIC) for

U.S. operations and Electronic Track Occupancy Permit (ETOP) for Canadian operations.

In areas where electronic coverage is not possible, a manual radio request with read

and repeat process is available between dispatcher and employee. Systems mentioned

here are not supported by CN IT but by CN’s Signals and Communications (S&C) group

and external vendors.

Wayside Health Network (WHN) The Wayside Health Network (WHN) system is an application used by the Mechanical

department to identify potential wheel-related problems before they cause equipment

failures. The system gathers details on railcars’ condition from wayside detectors

installed along the tracks and, based on detectors’ reading, identifies cars that

require immediate attention.

The system also maintains a health profile history for each car, which enables

CN to take more preventive actions, and therefore, enhance rail safety while

improving asset utilization and customer service.

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