CN resumed operations late Wednesday evening and has not elaborated on details of the walk-out.

“The labor disruption has had no material impact on Western's northeast BC [British Columbia] operations,” Western confirmed Thursday.

“Throughout the disruption of service, Western has maintained normal operations at its mines. With the resumption of services, the company expects to meet all its customer commitments.”

The producer also announced an operational milestone at its Wolverine mine, which recently produced its 5 millionth tonne of clean coal. The operation was commissioned as a greenfield mine in October 2006.

Last month, it was announced that Western Coal and its executives were being targeted in a $C220 million class action lawsuit filed by a group of the company’s investors.

The plaintiffs claim the company violated several securities laws and misled investors for monetary gain. Specifically, the documentation – which was filed November 20 with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice – alleges that Western made an inaccurate disclosure in its fiscal second-quarter 2007 report.

“The company believes these allegations are without merit and intends to vigorously defend them as well as the plaintiffs’ attempt to obtain court approval to proceed with the action,” Western said at the time.

Western Coal has mines in northeast British Columbia, Canada and West Virginia, with a total combined capacity of 7Mt annually.

The producer also has a 50.6% interest in Energybuild, a 45% interest in Xtract Energy and holds a 20% interest in NEMI Northern Energy & Mining.