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For Canadian National Railway Co., it won’t be déjà vu all over again. On Friday, the Class I reached a tentative four-year agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), averting a strike the union was set to launch at midnight March 25.

Officials at IBEW, which represents 644 CN workers who maintain and repair signals and communications systems in Canada, declined to release contract terms pending ratification. Two federal mediators helped prompt the agreement.

“We believe this tentative settlement addresses the issues brought forward by our membership,” said IBEW Senior System General Chairman Kevin Kearns in a prepared statement.

The previous contract between CN and IBEW expired Dec. 31, 2003. A year ago, the Canadian Auto Workers struck CN for four weeks because the parties were unable to negotiate an agreement.