(The following appeared on the News-Sun website on August 14.)
VERNON HILLS, Ill. — State Rep. Kathy Ryg, D-Vernon Hills, has called on the federal Surface Transportation Board to hold at least one hearing in the affected northwest suburbs on the proposed Canadian National Railway Company acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company.
The STB recently released its Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed CN acquisition of the EJ&E rail line. The draft shows that freight rail traffic along the existing CN line through Buffalo Grove, Mount Prospect and Des Plaines would be reduced from approximately 19 trains per day to just 2 per day.
And while there is no guarantee that traffic would never again increase, these reductions would provide welcome relief in a region that is criss-crossed by several Class 1 freight rail lines.
“With all the focus on the suburbs along the EJ&E, the views of those along the existing CN line are not being heard. This transaction has regional impacts and the STB must demonstrate some balance in their process,” Ryg said.
The STB has scheduled eight public meetings to take comments on the Draft EIS. Seven of the hearings are in suburbs along the EJ&E line and the eighth is in downtown Chicago. All would require lengthy travel by northwest suburban residents to get their questions asked and provide input.
The public meetings scheduled by the STB are to begin on Aug. 25.