(Article by Bob Okon and appeared on the Plainfield Sun webpage on September 2)
JOLIET — Canadian National Railway officials say Joliet would be a major part of its future regional operations.
Company representatives have told city officials that they would likely expand operations at the Joliet rail yard if the plan to acquire the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway line gets federal approval.
The railroad also plans to add track by building a run-through line that would allow trains to move faster through Joliet’s East Side.
Canadian National faces intense opposition from communities along the EJ&E line because of the additional train traffic it would bring to railroad crossings.
Joliet, however, last week became the first of the EJ&E communities to sign an agreement that signals cooperation between the railroad and the city. The agreement spells out ways in which
CN will help the city ease the impact of increased train traffic.
Joliet to be collection point
Outside of the agreement, CN officials also have said that the Joliet yard could become a hub for regional operations if the company acquires EJ&E.
CN expects to move local switching operations from its Markham facility to Joliet.
“Joliet would be the collection point for all the local business in the region,” said Jim Kvedaras, senior manager for public affairs at CN operation in the United States.
CN has not said whether that work would mean more jobs in Joliet. The EJ&E yard on the East Side already is used for switching cargo cars between trains headed to customers in the Chicago region.
But CN officials certainly have said that Joliet would continue to be a big part of the railroad even though the EJ&E name would go away.
“The East Joliet yard is substantially underutilized compared to what it was built for,” Eric Jakubowski, director of product development for CN told Joliet officials earlier this year at a public meeting.
Jakubowski described the Joliet yard as a future “hub” for the CN operation if the acquisition goes through.
Jakubowski also told city officials than CN would spend about $5 million in Joliet-area railroad improvements if it takes over the EJ&E.
A major part of that investment would be the construction of a new run-through track that also could be used to speed up trains passing through the city.
EJ&E trains in Joliet are at their slowest when passing through the Joliet yard, where they must slow down to 10 mph according to federal regulations.
CN plans to build about two miles of run-through track that would bypass the East Joliet yard and allow trains to travel at 45 mph.
James Haller, director of community and economic development for the city of Joliet, said speed will compensate somewhat for the increased number of trains coming through town. Faster trains won’t block the crossings as long, he said.
EJ&E trains are “notorious” for being slow-moving, Haller said. But he expects CN to run a faster moving railroad.
“All of these bigger, class-one railroads have three or more locomotives at the point,” he said, “and they’re all going what the allowable speed limit is.”