(The following story by Guy Tridgell appeared on the Southtown Star website on December 28.)
CHICAGO — The EJ&E Railroad could become the great equalizer between the haves and the have-nots.
Canadian National Railway Co.’s $300 million acquisition of line was approved last week by the Surface Transportation Board, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation that oversees railroad mergers and purchases.
The decision presses into action CN’s plans for the EJ&E, first announced 15 months ago.
That means more trains on the 198 miles of the EJ&E as it passes in an arc through suburbs such as New Lenox, Frankfort, Matteson and Chicago Heights.
But it also means fewer trains on the five CN lines radiating from Chicago.
Lines used by several carriers, such as the the Belt Railway Company of Chicago and the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad, also stand to see a decrease in trains.
The howls of protest from communities along the line were heard loud and clear.
But transportation experts said the winners are communities and neighborhoods that have suffered in silence from too many trains.
“Some towns carry a lot more freight that others. We haven’t paid attention to those towns like we should,” said Jim LaBelle, vice president with Chicago Metropolis 2020. “A lot of people have looked at the EJ&E for a long time because it’s been so underutilized.”
Studies found the sale would benefit 1.25 million residents in the Chicago area, while 900,000 would experience negative impacts.
Even the Surface Transportation Board’s three members wrote repeatedly in their opinion that the overall greater good to the region swayed their decision.
LaBelle noted that the EJ&E was created as a bypass around congested Chicago tracks more than 100 years ago.
He predicted local expressways will become less jammed if the area’s rail infrastructure operates more efficiently.
“With the EJ&E, you really have something that connects the East and West coasts,” he said. “If you can get your goods and services out efficiently, it makes this entire region an especially attractive place to invest.”
But the increase in trains on the EJ&E will not happen overnight.
CN is pledging to make $100 million in improvements to the line, including adding a second set of tracks in Matteson and outside of New Lenox to streamline operations.
CN officials said the improvements, and the extra trains, will be introduced in phases over the next three years.
Other hurdles remain.
Several towns that oppose the EJ&E sale, including New Lenox, are vowing to file appeals with the Surface Transportation Board.
And CN itself is balking at a board requirement that the company pay 78.5 percent toward a U.S. 30 overpass across the EJ&E in Lynwood and 67 percent for another one on Aurora’s Ogden Avenue.
To avoid a repeat of the EJ&E controversy, LaBelle said the Chicago area could use a local unit of government to oversee railroad matters. Such planning agencies already exist for roads and transit.
A local railroad authority, he said, would ensure that rail traffic is distributed equitably across the Chicago area, with dollars for building overpasses and underpasses spent where they are needed most.
“There has never been anything like that in this region,” he said. “We need it.”