(The following story by Jeremy Stoltz appeared on the Business Ledger website on June 18.)
NAPERVILLE, Ill. — The pending purchase of the EJ&E rail line by Canadian National (CN) Railway Company has created uproar in many communities likely to be most affected by the increased rail traffic — issues CN addressed at a recent meeting of area business leaders at the Hilton Lisle in Naperville.
The six factors of greatest concern to area residents were outlined by U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert (R-13), who spoke at the outset of the briefing. Those issues are:
• Traffic backups and congestion at grade crossings on east-west arteries.
• The ability of emergency personnel and equipment to respond to calls for assistance in a timely manner.
• Schools and their ability to provide safe and timely bus service.
• Noise and vibrations and their impact on commercial and residential property and property values.
• The safety of area residents as the volume of hazardous materials transported through communities grows.
• Air quality and natural areas adjacent to the rail line.
In most cases, these concerns can be mitigated, but to what level and from which funding source is still being hotly debated.
CN has stated that after due diligence on its part, through research conducted by industry experts, it will pay up to $40 million for repairs and enhancements in communities most likely to be hardest hit by the increased rail traffic. It also does not believe any grade separations on any of the EJ&E lines are necessary.
“Forty million dollars is what we think the customary payment is that railroads would make in these circumstances to mitigate,” said Jim Foote, CN executive vice president of sales and marketing. “There is no precedent whatsoever for the position that every crossing should be grade separated and that the railroad should pay for them all.”
Biggert strongly opposed CN’s stance on this matter.
“Communities along the EJ&E line are still trying to determine the total cost of mitigating the impact,” she said. “And while we don’t know the exact cost yet, you can be sure that it’s going to be more than the total of $40 million that CN is currently offering.”
The city of Naperville estimates it will cost $40 million to construct just one grade separation, said Biggert.
CN issued a statement on the matter, stating the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) prioritizes rail crossings using a formula that takes into account rail and roadway traffic volumes and speeds. Using IDOT criteria, CN’s transportation consultants showed that—after the transaction is complete—none of the EJ&E crossings would rank among Illinois’s 50 crossings most in need of a grade separation.
However, $40 million is what CN has identified as the proper amount to pay for improvements in crossings, sound barriers, fencing around schools and noise mitigation, based on its investigation of rail needs along the EJ&E.
“We have looked at all of that and anticipated that ($40 million), on a project by project basis, is what it would cost our company, in private dollars, to do that,” said Foote.
According to CN, if each high traffic rail crossing along the EJ&E were to be grade separated, the cost would kill the transaction.
“Those are unreasonable positions,” Foote said.
Biggert suggested reallocating federal resources available under the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) Program, which was to be a $1.5 billion public/private partnership to fund capital improvements on the region’s rail infrastructure. But with a federal contribution of only $100 million and another $100 million contributed by the railroads, the program only has $200 million available.
As currently structured, most of the funding would be spent in Chicago and Cook County, rather than in the collar counties.
“If railroads like CN are going to insists on paying for only 5 to 10 percent of the cost of mitigation and grade separations, then we should ensure that the public contribution to CREATE will benefit communities first, Metra second and railroad companies last,” said Biggert.
“It basically comes down to this: why should all that money for CREATE benefit the railroads and Chicago when so many trains may be rerouted through the suburbs?”
Foote pointed out that the railroads have done their part in regard to what he sees as a failed program.
“The CREATE project has been talked about for nine years now,” he said. “The railroads put in their money and no one else has stepped up to the plate to fund it.”
The state of Illinois has yet to submit its $100 million portion of CREATE, while the city of Chicago has not contributed its $30 million.
“The most recent estimate is going to exceed $3 billion for that project to be completed and it is unlikely that the money is going to be forthcoming,” Foote said. “What we’re proposing here is a private sector solution to this problem.”
Yet, even after CN pointed out the regional benefits of this plan—more efficient transportation of goods, less overall rail congestion and environmental advantages—many community leaders at the forum were not satisfied that the transaction’s positives outweighed its negatives.
“There are many communities that simply don’t want these trains going through their town and that’s very clear,” said Foote. “I guess we can agree to disagree with those people.”
The proposed deal is still under review by the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB), which has final approval over the sale.
In other related action:
• Barrington leaders have called for Congress to make a congressional review of the transaction, stating that their opposition to the purchase needs to be taken to the “next level.”
• CN has asked that the STB conclude its environmental study of the proposed transaction by Dec. 1, stating that the announced two-year review period is a tactic by opponents of the deal to delay the purchase until it becomes economically unfeasible.