Considered "Canada's Second Transcontinental" the Canadian Northern Railway was incorporated in 1899 following the combination of two small Manitoba grain-transporting branch lines. At its peak, the CNoR possessed 16,093 kilometres of transcontinental railway, with rail lines connecting Montreal to Vancouver. However, as a result of the outbreak of the World War 1 in 1914 and high construction costs, the Canadian Northern Railway encountered serious financial difficulties. In 1917, on the recommendation of a Royal Commission, the federal Government decided to combine the operations of the government-owned Canadian Government Railways and the privately owned, but financially troubled, Canadian Northern Railways System. The new railway was called the Canadian National Railways in 1918.