REGINA, April 25, 2017 /CNW/ - CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) announced today the naming of its national employee training centre in Winnipeg after former president and chief executive officer Claude Mongeau.

CN president and chief executive officer Luc Jobin announced Monday that the company will name its employee national training centre in Winnipeg after former president and chief executive officer Claude Mongeau.

"Under Claude's leadership, we built two state-of-the-art employee training centres where a new generation of railroaders learn the skills they need for a safe and successful career at CN," said Luc Jobin, president and chief executive officer. "Claude valued our commitment to safety above all and the training centres are vital in instilling and maintaining that strong commitment to safety in our thousands of new railroaders as well as veteran employees.

"The training centres and their part in advancing CN's goal to become the safest railway in North America are a major part of Claude's enduring legacy," Jobin added.

Mongeau joined CN in 1994, was the company's chief financial officer for 11 years, and president and chief executive officer from 2010 until he stepped down for health reasons at the end of June 2016.

"I am truly honoured that the Winnipeg National Training Centre will bear my name as this facility is a cornerstone of CN's commitment to the safety of its people, customers and communities," said Mongeau. "Safety is a key value at CN and our industry-leading training centres are the embodiment of that commitment."     

Opened in 2014, the CN Claude Mongeau National Training Centre campus in Winnipeg provides consistent, quality training with a modern curriculum, coupled with skilled instructors, for jobs ranging from conductor to track maintainer, and car mechanic to supervisor. Employees receive hands-on training in learning laboratories with equipment such as locomotive, crane, and signals and communication simulators. Outdoor labs with dedicated rolling stock and other equipment for field training are also appreciated by the employees attending the facilities.

The Winnipeg centre hosts employees from across Canada, while the U.S. training center located in suburban Chicago accommodates employees from across the United States.  Since the training campuses opened, more than 15,000 CN employees have received training, and through the CN Campus Partnership Program, more than 200 representatives of CN customers have taken courses in basic rail safety and the requirements of safe operations.

CN is a true backbone of the economy, transporting more than C$250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network of approximately 20,000 route-miles spanning Canada and mid-America. CN – Canadian National Railway Company, along with its operating railway subsidiaries – serves the cities and ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Chicago, Memphis, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For more information about CN, visit the Company's website at www.cn.ca.

CN president and chief executive officer Luc Jobin listens to a shareholder question during the company’s annual general meeting held Tuesday in Regina, SK.

SOURCE CN