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.

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December 23, 2008 / Pat Harper / Chicago Tribune

Southwest suburban Mokena has become the ninth area town to make a deal and drop its opposition to Canadian National Railway’s proposed acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway.  Trustees on Monday signed off on an agreement with the CN, which pledged to address quality-of-life issues resulting from increased freight traffic in town.

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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.

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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.”

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September 14, 2008 / BY SUSAN DEMAR LAFFERTY / NeighborhoodStar

If the people don’t want more trains coming through town, it’s up to them to do something about it. At a New Lenox rally to oppose Canadian National Railroad’s plan to purchase the Elgin Joliet & Eastern tracks and run freight trains all day long, residents were told they have one last chance to write letters, make phone calls and voice their opinions. The deadline to submit comments is Sept. 30.

Residents and officials are hoping that if the local motion is powerful enough it will throw CN off the EJ&E tracks.

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September 12, 2008 / BOB OKON / Joliet Herald News

AREA OFFICIALS AND RESIDENTS TELL FEDERAL BOARD: NO MORE TRAINS AND NOT ON OUR DIME

JOLIET — Opponents to the Canadian National Railway plan questioned why the company should be allowed to profit at the expense of local residents and taxpayers.

Frankfort Mayor Jim Holland even accused the Montreal-based railroad of seeking taxpayer subsidies for a venture that ultimately will take jobs away from workers in the United States because Canadian National is expanding port operations in Canada.

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July 15, 2008 / by Katie Leimkuehler/ Triblocal.com staff reporter

The Village of Mokena Board of Trustees has unanimously authorized the Village to enter into an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with The Regional Answer to Canadian National (TRAC), a regional coalition of units of local government pursuing common goals in opposition to Canadian National (CN) rail congestion.

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April 21, 2008 / By Susan DeMar Lafferty / Chicago Sun-Times news

As the municipal Davids continue to tackle the Goliath Canadian National Railroad, they are rallying troops and gathering ammunition.

Frankfort, Mokena and New Lenox, initially got together with other Will County communities to discuss the environmental impacts that increased freight trains would cause if the CN is allowed to acquire the EJ&E tracks in this area. They have now been invited to join with towns throughout DuPage, Lake County and Lake County, Indiana, to form a coalition dubbed TRAC–The Regional Answer to Canadian National.

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February 6, 2008 / By Susan DeMar Lafferty / SUN-TIMES NEWS GROUP

MOKENA - If Canadian National is allowed to acquire the EJ&E Railroad tracks, Mokena wants to place some restrictions on the proposed sale.

Trustees unanimously passed a resolution at Monday’s board meeting detailing how they want CN to mitigate the negative impacts of its additional freight trains and pay for it.

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