CN Rail to shut down Eastern Canadian operations due to protests

Canadian National Railway Co said on Thursday it has been forced to shutdown its operations in Eastern Canada due to the blocking of rail lines by those protesting against a natural gas pipeline in British Columbia.

Canada's biggest railway said the shut down, which would continue until the blockades end, may lead to temporary layoffs within its Eastern Canadian operational staff.

Anti-pipeline protesters near tracks in Ontario, Canada's most populated province, have disrupted passenger trains and goods transportation for the seventh straight day.

(Reporting by Nishara Karuvalli Pathikkal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)