New Lenox Rail Sense

September 25, 2008 / By Marni Pyke / Daily Herald

Legislation aimed at making federal regulators pay closer attention to community concerns when ruling on railroad mergers such as the controversial plan by Canadian National Railway to buy the EJ&E railroad cleared the U.S. House transportation committee Wednesday.

The next step is a vote in the House but it’s uncertain whether the policy will be prioritized given the pending election and financial bailout maelstrom in Congress.

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September 24, 2008 / Aurora Beacon News

A congressional committee this morning gave approval to rules that would require community impact to be considered by the feds analyzing proposed railroad mergers.

The House Transportation Committee, meeting Wednesday morning in Washington, D.C., moved the resolution introduced by Rep. Jim Oberstar of Minnesota to the full House of Representatives for discussion. If passed, the bill calls on the Surface Transportation Board to weigh positive and negative impact a rail merger could have on affected communities.

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September 10, 2008 / BY GUY TRIDGELL /  SouthtownStar

The clock is ticking on legislation that could kill the controversial plan to sell the EJ&E Railroad and divert more trains to the suburbs.

A Congressional hearing Tuesday in Washington, D.C., was the first step in creating a law that would require federal regulators to take a harder look at community impacts when ruling on railroad mergers and acquisitions.

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September 9, 2008 / By Richard Wronski / Chicago Tribune reporter

Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the area’s top planning body, made the draft letter public Tuesday

If the Canadian National Railway wants to prove its commitment to solving traffic problems caused by its plan to acquire a suburban railroad, it should set aside $150 million to help pay for overpasses and other improvements.

That is the message contained in a draft of a letter to federal regulators from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the region’s top planning body. The letter was made public Tuesday.

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September 9, 2008 / Published in the SouthtownStar

WASHINGTON (AP) - A measure gaining bipartisan support in Congress could threaten Canadian National Railway’s plan to buy the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway line in Chicago’s suburbs, the company’s chairman and CEO said Tuesday.

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