(The Canadian Press circulated the following story by Ross Marowits on September 27.)
MONTREAL — Canadian goods destined for the key U.S. market should save one day of transportation by avoiding bottlenecks in Chicago after CN Rail struck a US$300-million deal to acquire most of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Co. from U.S. Steel.
“Everything we haul from the east and west of Canada — which is a good bit — into the U.S., will all be substantially helped from a transit timing and consistency standpoint,” Canadian National chief executive Hunter Harrison said yesterday.
Forest products from Western Canada, for example, will be able to bypass Chicago before heading to the Midwest, southeast or mid-Atlantic regions.
Auto traffic from the east that travels along the Grand Trunk line would also be able avoid delays.
“It’s just as good for the east as it is for the west and the savings in transit times is very similar.”
The transcontinental railway has long sought a way to relieve the congestion in the key midwestern gateway.
The deal with U.S. Steel was reached following several months of negotiations.
By purchasing EJ&E’s 320 kilometres of track encircling Chicago, CN will be able divert traffic from the rail lines of other companies it uses within the windy city that frequently become bottlenecked.
“Today, sometimes with congestion in Chicago we get from Winnipeg to Chicago faster than we get from north Chicago to south Chicago,” Harrison said.
“So this can have a substantial impact to transit times and certainly to the consistency.”
CN plans to sell some of its urban rail lands, including portions that pass near Soldier Field, home of NFL’s Chicago Bears. The land could be redeveloped and would fit with the city’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic Summer Games.