In 1910, the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) came to town and secretly purchased three entire blocks of downtown Montreal property for a major terminal and real estate development to coincide with the construction of its Mount Royal Tunnel. A temporary terminal facility was constructed to coincide with the tunnel project; however, financial difficulties at CNoR resulting from declining traffic levels following the commencement of World War I delayed completion. In September 1918 CNoR went bankrupt and was nationalized by the federal government, merging the company with Canadian Government Railways that December to form Canadian National Railways (CNR).