(The following story by Kathy Cichon appeared on the Suburban Chicago News website on March 3.)
CHICAGO — Forest Preserve District of DuPage County officials are expected to formally notify Canadian National Railway next week that it cannot acquire or use a one-acre parcel of land in Pratt’s Wayne Woods Forest Preserve in its plans to reroute freight traffic around Chicago.
The proposed sale of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern to Canadian National has raised concerns about increased train traffic in Joliet, Plainfield, New Lenox and other towns along the railroad.
“Based on our investigation, the Forest Preserve District will not sell, lease or in any way turn over any … property to Canadian (National Railway),” district President D. “Dewey” Pierotti Jr. said Thursday morning. “No. 1, under the law, the Forest Preserve District does not have the authority to sell that property to a third party. And No. 2, more importantly, Canadian (National) does not have the power or authority to condemn the property.”
On Tuesday, the Board of Commissioners is expected to authorize the district to send a letter notifying the railway of its position. Canadian National first approached the district about the property nearly two months ago, said Executive Director Brent Manning.
“When the president first heard of this, red flags went up everyplace,” Manning said Thursday.
Canadian National expressed interest in acquiring approximately one acre of district land near Powis Road and the intersection of the Canadian National and Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad tracks inside the Wayne preserve. Plans show it would be used to build a new track connecting the EJ&E track to Canadian National’s track, district officials said. Without the connector track, trains would have to back up and switch tracks.
Canadian National issued the following statement Thursday in response to the news:
“CN has proposed the EJ&E purchase as a way to reduce fuel consumption and emissions from trains and in order to reduce freight congestion in the Chicago region. CN continues to discuss this matter with the forest preserve district, and looks forward to working with the district to identify mutually beneficial arrangements.”
In the fall, Canadian National announced plans to buy the 118-year-old EJ&E line for $300 million, pending approval from the Surface Transportation Board. The Montreal-based company wants to buy the 198-mile EJ&E, which passes through Naperville, so it can re-route traffic around congested tracks in Chicago.