(The following story by David Gialanella appeared on the Courier News website on August 29.)
BARTLETT, Ill. — Residents opposing the Canadian National Railway’s acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway cite a number of reasons why the deal shouldn’t go through, but for Karen Wojciechowski of Bartlett, safety is her No. 1 concern.
“What keeps me up at night is being cut off from emergency services,” Wojciechowski said Thursday night during a public hearing at Bartlett High School. “The fact of the matter is, if your house is on fire, your husband is having a heart attack or your baby can’t breathe, you don’t have time to wait for a freight train.”
The 35-year-old marketing manager was one of about 250 people who turned out for the hearing hosted by the federal Surface Transportation Board.
Opponents of the transaction — which is pending the board’s approval — say huge increases in train traffic will jeopardize public safety and quality of life in communities along the line. On Thursday, residents and local officials criticized the board for their 1,000-page environmental impact statement on the prospective deal as ignoring some hazards of additional trains.
U.S. Rep. Randy Ramey, R-Carol Stream, told an assembled crowd that he’s received “many hundreds of phone calls, e-mails and letters” encouraging him to support the acquisition.
“But what about the quality of life?” Ramey said. “That’s why we all came out here, to get away from the traffic, to get away from the trains.”
The railway argues that rail traffic is so light on that line right now, adding a dozen or two-dozen more trains to some areas would not greatly impact areas that already have large numbers of commuter trains running through them.
Officials also point out that communities along CN’s current lines — such as Des Plaines and Buffalo Grove — will benefit from fewer daily train trips.
The STB’s report names 15 crossings as needing further study to see if they require grade separations — the addition of underpasses or overpasses to eliminate road-rail intersections.
Estimates quoted during the evening’s events ranged. One official said it would cost about $700 million to perform grade separations at current at-grade rail crossings. Literature from a group called The Regional Answer to Canadian National (TRAC) provided a figure of $1.65 billion.
Typically, the federal government pays 90 percent, and the corporation and local governments each pay 5 percent of the costs for railway improvements, CN spokesmen said.
Jim Kvedaras, senior manager of U.S. public and government affairs for CN, said his interactions with residents at the series of meetings have been “widely ranging”
“The communities have valid concerns,” Kvedaras said outside the hearing. “This impacts them right where they live. That’s our role here (at the meetings).”
He added that many people underestimate the role railroads play in national and international commerce.
“We’re a funky little industry,” Kvedaras said. “Nobody really knows we’re there until something gets shut down.”