(The following story by Bob Uphues appeared on the Riverside/ Brookfield Landmark website on April 16.)
RIVERSIDE, Ill. — North Riverside and Riverside could be the beneficiaries of a plan by the Canadian National Railroad (CN) to purchase a suburban rail line in order to reroute freight traffic around the City of Chicago.
Last October, the CN filed an application to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) seeking to purchase the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway (EJ&E), which arcs from Waukegan to Gary, Ind., through Chicago’s far west suburbs. The Surface Transportation Board is the federal agency that regulates railroads and reviews railroad mergers.
The CN is seeking to buy the EJ&E line in order to reduce the volume of rail traffic it sends through Chicago by rerouting freight trains onto the EJ&E tracks. Communities and county boards along the lightly used EJ&E tracks have condemned the acquisition, which would sharply increase the amount of train traffic going through their towns.
However, inner ring suburbs like Riverside and North Riverside could see the opposite effect, and on April 7 the Riverside village board voted unanimously to support the CN’s purchase of the EJ&E.
While the North Riverside village board has not formally acted on the issue, the sale does have the support of Mayor Richard Scheck, who is spearheading a letter-writing campaign to the Surface Transportation Board to boost the sale.
The sale also has the support of the West Central Municipal Council, which sent a letter to the STB in January stating that “communities within the WCMC have felt the effects of congested freight traffic and feel that the acquisition of the EJ&E will allow freight to move more efficiently through the region.”
According to Jim Kvedaras, CN’s senior manager of U.S. public and government affairs, freight traffic on the line that runs from Broadview to Cicero through North Riverside and Riverside would be cut in half.
“In short, there’ll be a dramatic reduction in the amount of train traffic out there,” Kvedaras said.
In its application to the STB regarding the purchase of the EJ&E line, the Canadian National Railroad stated that an average of 4.4 trains per day traversed the tracks that cut through North Riverside and Riverside.
If the CN’s purchase goes forward that number will be cut to 1.7 trains per day within a three-year period, Kvedaras said.
However, communities along the EJ&E line have uniformly condemned the purchase. The purchase is also being opposed by the Illinois Department of Transportation, because IDOT contends it will negatively affect Amtrak service in Illinois.
The CN announced its intentions to purchase the EJ&E line back in September 2007. According to the application filed in October, the CN proposes to pay $300 million for the rail line and make another $100 million in improvements.
The Surface Transportation Board, comprised of three presidential appointees, is evaluating the purchase based on environmental impact and on economic and transportation considerations. An agency spokesperson said she did not know when the ruling could come. Canadian National is hoping for a decision by the end of 2008.
“We’re cautiously optimistic there will be a decision sometime in 2008,” Kvedaras said.
If the railroad gets the OK, they will have three years to implement the changes they’ve proposed.
“It’s not something you’re going to see overnight,” Kvedaras said.
The proposal has divided the state’s federal congressional delegation. Congressman Danny Davis (D-7th), whose district includes part of North Riverside, supports the move while Sen. Richard Durbin has opposed it.
Congressman Daniel Lipinski (D-3rd), who represents all of Riverside and a portion of North Riverside, has not made a final show of support or opposition for the sale.
According to Lipinski spokesman Jason Tai, the congressman “is trying to evaluate all of the data and has asked for additional information from both the Canadian National and the U.S. government on how this is going to impact the Third District.”
Tai said that Lipinski will also be contacting local mayors to get their views on the proposed merger.