(The following story by Marni Pyke appeared on the Chicago Daily Herald website on December 17.)
CHICAGO — The Canadian National Railway’s takeover of the EJ&E railroad is still in its infancy, but growing pains are already starting.
The purchase could have a wide-ranging impact across the suburbs, from increasing freight trains in some towns and reducing them in others, to potentially threatening the long-awaited STAR line rail system.
CN’s plans, still contingent on federal government approval, include spending $100 million to improve and expand capacity on the EJ&E.
But shifting a number of freight trains using crowded CN tracks to EJ&E lines is sparking controversy.
It’s a potential nightmare for communities that would experience a huge spike in the freights through their towns.
“It will be a huge impact on us; it’s not something minimal,” Barrington Village President Karen Darch said.
For towns such as Buffalo Grove that could see freight traffic decrease, it’s welcome news.
“There is a yin that goes with the yang,” Buffalo Grove Trustee Jeff Berman said.
CN’s proposals also may affect Metra, which intends to locate its STAR Line connecting Cook, DuPage and Will counties along the EJ&E.
With extra freights anticipated on the EJ&E, Canadian National contends STAR trains can’t piggyback on existing track, but it would allow additional track in the right-of-way.
Some suburban leaders worry the move will be the death of the STAR Line.
But CN officials counter their plan will reduce rail congestion in the region.
And that’s needed relief, said James LaBelle, vice president of Chicago Metropolis 2020, a regional public policy group.
“Overall, there’s a potential significant regional benefit in terms of the ability to handle freight train movement in a more efficient way,” LaBelle said.
Making tracks
Canadian National announced it intended to buy the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Co. for $300 million in September from U.S. Steel Corp. The company first must obtain the blessing of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board and undergo an environmental analysis that could take from 18 months to a few years.
Board officials noted the environmental impact study was needed because of the traffic increases on certain lines. The first deadline for the public to comment on CN’s proposal is Jan. 28.
The EJ&E, makes a half circle around the western metropolitan region, intersecting with CN routes.
A Canadian National report states the EJ&E, which is used sparingly for industries such as U.S. Steel, will provide the “missing link” in connecting lines that converge in Chicago and get backed up.
“This is a privately funded resolution of a regional congestion,” CN spokesman Jim Kvedaras said.
Ultimately, 34 municipalities will see more trains and 80 will see less, the company predicts.
In Cook County, towns near the North Central Metra line south of Vernon Hills could get about 17 fewer freights a day, CN said. Winners in the freight lottery may include Buffalo Grove and Des Plaines.
This could allow for more commuter trains and “be helpful for surface congestion,” said Berman, also a member of the Northwest Municipal Conference transportation committee. The village is expected to hear a presentation from Canadian National today.
But Buffalo Grove’s gain could be Barrington’s loss.
The village has formed the Barrington Communities Against CN Rail Congestion group with eight other municipalities and townships.
The purchase could mean 15 more freights a day on the EJ&E compared to a handful now. This will disrupt schools and delay ambulances at grade crossings, opponents say.
“It definitely will create a negative impact on our community,” Darch said.
U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo also added his voice to the chorus of disapproval.
The Egan Republican wrote the Surface Transportation Board noting that more freight trains crossing Route 14, Route 59 and Lake-Cook Road in Barrington will disrupt driving in McHenry County.
‘Triple’ traffic
The concerns are echoed in west DuPage. Communities that could experience significantly more freights are West Chicago, Aurora, Naperville, Warrenville and Wayne.
The spike, in some cases more than 20 freights a day, prompted protests from DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom, who announced the county will notify the national board of its concerns.
“We’re very concerned. If suddenly the EJ&E has a tremendous amount of traffic — there’s a lot of at-grade crossings in DuPage, and this could snarl traffic and cause safety issues,” Schillerstrom said.
In Naperville, “from the preliminary numbers we’ve seen, freight traffic will at least triple, and the hazardous materials that will be hauled will be even more than that,” city engineer Bill Novack said. “Our largest concern is the traffic congestion that will cause.”
Towns in the northern half of DuPage, such as Villa Park, Elmhurst, Addison, would be hearing a few less train whistles, Kvedaras responded.
“We like to note more communities will have less trains running through them. This won’t help the Napervilles of the world, but there are benefits,” he said.
“Be advised at the end of the day, the railroads don’t make this stuff, they move this stuff. Our customers are the region’s employers.”
Falling STAR?
The STAR Line would take riders down the Northwest Tollway, I-90, then near Hoffman Estates head south to Joliet along the EJ&E tracks. It would link about 100 communities and connect with O’Hare International Airport. Uncertain funding, however, has made the project at least a decade off.
Schillerstrom and others fear if CN won’t accommodate the STAR Line on its tracks, the vulnerable project could falter.
“If suddenly you have all this freight traffic, it will kill the STAR Line, and that could be a double whammy,” Schillerstrom said.
Leaders with the Northwest Municipal Conference, which has Cook, Lake and McHenry county members, concur.
CN’s plan “has the potential to increase the costs substantially if Metra is expected to construct a new railway,” transportation program manager Mike Walczak said.
Metra officials won’t go that far but acknowledged laying more track than anticipated will affect the more than $1.1 billion cost of the STAR Line.
“Building track is extremely expensive,” Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said.
CN’s conditions could change “the scope of the project, but I don’t think anyone here thinks that will kill it,” she added.
Kvedaras said CN is only being pragmatic.
“It’s in their and our best interest to be on separate tracks,” he explained.
But that’s not to say Metra can’t use additional space next to the tracks for the STAR line, Kvedaras added.
Pardonnet said it’s too early to speculate and noted Metra has a good working relationship with CN.
“If they don’t want us to use it, we’ll act accordingly at the appropriate time,” she said. “Right now, they don’t even own it, so it’s not as if we can make a hard-core agreement.”