New Lenox Rail Sense

September 19, 2008 / By BOB OKON / Joliet Herald News

Canadian National Railway is asking a federal court to grant what regulators would not.

The railroad wants a court order that would force regulators to make a decision on the sale of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway before evaluating the full impact on local communities.

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July 25, 2008 / By Ben Bradley / ABC7-WLS [with video]

A preliminary draft has been released on the environmental impact of a plan to run more freight trains through the suburbs. Canadian National Railway says it will allow its trains to avoid congestion in Chicago. But many suburbs strongly oppose the plan.

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May 13, 2008 / WTTW “Chicago Tonight” / Reported by Rich Samuels

Why are municipalities in five counties (as well as members of the Illinois congressional delegation) at odds over the proposed purchase of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad by the Canadian National?

(TV coverage includes interviews with CN representatives, local spokespeople, Sen. Richard Durbin and transportation experts.)

View the 12-minute video by clicking here 

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http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=42,8,4&vid=http://wttw.vo.llnwd.net/o16/wttw/c2n/051308b.flv

March 20, 2008 / By Guy Tridgell / sun-times news group

FRANKFORT — If Frankfort wants to avoid a dramatic increase in train traffic through the heart of town, the community that boasts of its 1890s charm needs to prepare for a fight, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said Wednesday.

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March 11, 2008 / By Richard Wronski / Chicago Tribune

The Canadian National Railway Co. is offering to spend $40 million for overpasses in suburban areas facing major increases in freight train traffic under its plan to bypass congestion in Chicago, the railroad said Monday.

The CN also pledged to cap Amtrak’s costs for the use of CN tracks, which the railroad said should calm fears that passenger service south to Springfield, Carbondale and other Illinois cities would be jeopardized by buying the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway.

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March 6, 2008 / By CINDY WOJDYLA CAIN / The Herald News

Little progress was made Wednesday during a meeting designed to air concerns over the proposed sale of the Elgin Joliet and Eastern Railroad to Canadian National.

“We didn’t get very far,” U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said during a conference call with reporters.

Durbin and U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean, D-Barrington, met with H. Hunter Harrison, CEO of Canadian National. CN wants to buy the 198-mile EJ&E line so it can reroute its trains around congested tracks in Chicago. The 198-mile EJ&E stretches from Waukegan to Gary, Ind., and passes through several towns in Will County including Joliet and Frankfort.

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February 22, 2008 / By REGAN FOSTER / Northwest Herald

SCHAUMBURG - A pending $300 million rail purchase that could increase the number of freight trains running along lightly used suburban lines has both winners and losers, Sen. Richard Durbin said Thursday.

Unfortunately, the senior senator from Illinois added, many of those who stand to lose the most live in the north and northwest suburbs.

Durbin and Rep. Melissa Bean met with suburban leaders Thursday to hear their thoughts on, among other topics, Canadian National’s pending purchase of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad.

“This is a complicated proposal,” Durbin said. “We’ve got to work this thing out, not just jump on it.”

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