New Lenox Rail Sense

December 25, 2008 / BY GUY TRIDGELL / SouthtownStar

Company must also help fund road bypasses, cameras at crossings

The Canadian National Railway Co. got its wish to buy the EJ&E Railroad, but it’s going to have to pay. In a unanimous decision Wednesday, the federal Surface Transportation Board approved the company’s $300 million purchase of the EJ&E, a 198-mile line that arcs the Chicago area.

Read the complete article

December 25, 2008 / By Richard Wronski / Chicago Tribune

Trains may triple in many suburbs

Federal regulators have given a green light to Canadian National Railway’s plan to divert freight traffic through Chicago’s suburbs, a possible boon for the economy but potentially bad news for many suburban motorists likely to encounter delays at blocked crossings. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board unanimously approved on Wednesday CN’s $300 million purchase of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway. But in response to critics, the board imposed an unprecedented condition: CN must pay tens of millions of dollars to build two overpasses in Aurora and Lynwood.

Read the complete article

December 23, 2008 / by Canadian National Railway / Press Release

CN (TSX: CNR: 0.0499, -0.0001, -0.2%)(NYSE: CNI: 34.44, -0.37, -1.06%) announced today a voluntary mitigation agreement with the Village of Mokena, Ill., located southwest of Chicago, that addresses the community’s concerns about CN’s proposed acquisition of the principal lines of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E).  Under the agreement, CN would provide funding for quiet zones, noise mitigation, and emergency response personnel training and emergency communication capabilities.

Read the complete news release

December 17, 2008 / BY SUSAN DEMAR LAFFERTY / Southtown Star

Add Frankfort to the list of communities that have made a deal with the Canadian National Railway.

In exchange for dropping its opposition to the CN’s proposed purchase of the EJ&E Railroad, Frankfort will receive $3.1 million in mitigation efforts, according to the agreement approved Monday by the village board.

Read the complete article

December 17, 2008 / By Richard Wronski / Chicago Tribune reporter

CN to spend millions on addressing problems with safety, noise and traffic

Some communities that had opposed Canadian National Railway’s plan to run more freight trains through their towns have decided to stop fighting and negotiate their own deals to ease noise, safety and traffic concerns. As of Tuesday, eight communities-from Mundelein to Frankfort and Schererville, Ind.-have approved individual agreements with the railway that are worth millions of dollars.

Read the complete article

December 7, 2008 / By SUSAN DeMAR LAFFERTY / Sun-Times News Group

NEW LENOX — It seems to village leaders that the Canadian National Railroad is dividing and conquering its opposition.

First Joliet signed a deal, now Frankfort is in the talking stages.

CN wants to buy the EJ&E tracks to create a bypass around Chicago and quadruple the number of freight trains. The plan has been strongly opposed by a coalition of communities known as TRAC — The Regional Answer to Canadian National, of which New Lenox and Frankfort are members.

Read the complete article

December 4, 2008 / By DUAA ELDEIB / Joliet Herald News

Canadian National Railway’s plan to purchase EJ&E Railway and divert to it a substantial amount of freight traffic would translate into $267 million in the nation’s gross domestic product — of which Chicago region’s gross regional product would increase by $60 million — a study released Wednesday stated.

The findings left New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann asking one question: “Is it going to boost the economy of New Lenox?” he said. “If it’s going to boost the economy in Chicago, that doesn’t do a whole lot for me.”

Read the complete article

December 2, 2008 / Richard Wronski / Chicago Tribune

The Chicago area’s economy would grow by more than $60 million a year, freight traffic gridlock would ease, and hundreds of jobs would be created if the Canadian National Railway is allowed to divert freight traffic onto a suburban rail line, a new study said. The CN plan also would relieve highway congestion in northeastern Illinois and boost the nation’s gross domestic product by $267 million, according to the study to be released Wednesday by Chicago Metropolis 2020.

Read the complete article

December 2, 2008 / BY SUSAN DEMAR LAFFERTY / SouthtownStar

At the urging of village residents, Frankfort officials have decided to switch tracks and start talking with the Canadian National Railway to come up with ways to ease the impact of more freight trains rumbling through town.

Read the complete article

October 12, 2008 / BY GUY TRIDGELL / Southtown Star Staff writer

Southland emergency teams worry about how they’ll cope if CN Railway acquires the EJ&E

Matteson is about to become a tale of two cities. If the controversial sale of the EJ&E Railroad goes through, the town’s fire department could find itself sealed off from a sizeable chunk of Matteson. “I don’t want to say it’s going to be a real burden to us. We don’t have a lot of calls south of the tracks,” Fire Chief Nick Wilkens said. “But if we get even two calls, they are still from our citizens. We have to protect them.”

Read the complete article