(The following story by Guy Tridgell appeared on the Suburban Chicago News website on March 20.)
FRANKFORT, Ill. — If Frankfort wants to avoid a dramatic increase in train traffic through the heart of town, the community that boasts of its 1890s charm needs to prepare for a fight, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said Wednesday.
Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, came to Frankfort to pledge his opposition to the Canadian National Railway Co.’s plans to acquire the EJ&E Railway.
“Most railroads believe they were here before everyone else,” Durbin said. “Sometimes they are difficult to deal with. I hope we can find a way to work this out, but if not, they are in for a battle.”
CN officials want to buy for $300 million the EJ&E tracks that encircle the Chicago area to redirect some freight traffic in and out of Chicago. But the plan, which has the support of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, would see the number of trains in suburbs such as Chicago Heights, Matteson and New Lenox jump from 15 a day to almost 40.
The federal Surface Transportation Board is reviewing CN’s proposal. The board, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation, could release some initial findings in the next few weeks.
“Don’t rubber stamp this,” Durbin implored the board before a gathering of local officials. “Come out here to Illinois and speak to people.”
Acquisition’s impact
Frankfort Mayor Jim Holland said few suburbs would feel the impact of the EJ&E acquisition more than his town. He said the EJ&E tracks pass within 1,500 feet of Hickory Creek Middle School, Grand Prairie Elementary School and Chelsea Elementary School.
The tracks also cross six streets in the village — Wolf Road, Harlem Avenue, Pfeiffer Road, Sauk Trail, Center Road and 116th Street — and pass over LaGrange Road on a viaduct built largely of exposed wooden timbers.
“I don’t know when it was built, but evidently steel wasn’t invented yet,” Will County Executive Larry Walsh said at the news conference with Durbin. “It is absolutely unacceptable.”
Holland said CN officials offered to pay only 10 percent of the cost of building overpasses and underpasses on the EJ&E line that will run into the tens of millions of dollars.
“They think the United States government, the state and the village should pay for the rest,” Holland said of CN. “So, really, they are helping with nothing.”
CN spokesman Jim Kvedaras said the federal government can mandate that the railroad pay for such improvements on the EJ&E tracks. He said CN hopes that negotiations with towns along the EJ&E line can address their concerns about the increased noise and traffic problems that will come with the extra trains.
“This is still subject to ongoing discussions with the communities,” Kvedaras said. “We hope we will meet or exceed their expectations.”