New Lenox Rail Sense

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.

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November 25, 2008/ By Marni Pyke / Daily HeraldU.S. regulators are saying there’s much ado about nothing over a letter they wrote to Illinois members of Congress indicating the controversial merger of the Canadian National Railway and Elgin, Joliet & Eastern railroad won’t be decided until next year.

In the Friday letter to lawmakers who have been critical of CN’s plan to buy the EJ&E, Surface Transportation Board officials indicated that “we anticipate that the board will issue a final environmental impact statement sometime in the next few weeks. This will push a final decision in the matter to sometime early in 2009.”

But on Monday, an federal official said the letter was intended only as an acknowledgment to concerns voiced by congressional leaders and does not preclude the agency deciding on the issue before the new year.

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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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March 10, 2008 / BY PAIGE WINFIELD / The Courier News

As DuPage County officials anticipate more traffic congestion after the likely sale of the EJ&E railroad, they hope some federal dollars can at least soften the blow.

County board members Jim Healy of Naperville and Pam Rion of Bloomingdale met with nearly 100 other local officials from the collar counties and Indiana on Friday to discuss the possible purchase of the rail line by Canadian National Railroad. Currently under review by the Surface Transportation Board, the sale would result in up to a 400 percent increase in rail traffic in the region.

In DuPage County, 21 grade crossings would be affected by the sale. Members of the county’s legislative committee hope that at least some of those crossings can be separated, using federal money obtained with the help of a new lobbyist.

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February 26, 2008 / Northwest Herald

The planned purchase of the EJ&E Railroad has caused consternation throughout much of the suburbs.

Canadian National Railway in September plans announced to buy the railroad from U.S. Steel for $300 million. The purchase would mean that some communities in the suburbs would see fewer freight trains every day, but others would see many more trains.

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February 25, 2008 / Bruce Sauer / Chicago Tribune

This is in response to “Crossings could be component of rail deal; Canadian National chief says company will share costs if EJ&E line sale Okd” (Metro, Feb. 13). The article quoted Canadian National President E. Hunter Harrison as willing to pay the company’s “fair share” of mitigation expenses.

What exactly does that mean?

If this acquisition is approved, it will have a detrimental impact on dozens of communities, including increased congestion, negative environmental impacts, decrease in property values, loss of business and, most important, it will jeopardize public safety.

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