(The following story by Susan Demar Lafferty appeared on the Southtown Star website on December 2.)
CHICAGO — At the urging of village residents, Frankfort officials have decided to switch tracks and make a deal with the Canadian National Railway to ease the impact of more freight trains rumbling through town.
In a public meeting Monday night, Mayor Jim Holland told residents that once a final environmental impact study is published on CN’s planned purchase of the EJ&E Railroad, Frankfort would lose any leverage it has to force CN to make improvements. Holland said the study could be issued soon.
CN wants to acquire the EJ&E line to move its freight trains through the Chicago area more quickly and easily. The line circles the Chicago region from Gary to Waukegan.
Holland told a group of about two dozen residents Monday night that that he believes the final study will be “less than ideal” for Frankfort and would weaken its bargaining position with CN.
With it appearing likely that the U.S. Surface Transportation Board will approve the rail merger, Frankfort residents urged village leaders to “cut the bait” and get what noise and safety concessions they can out of CN “but don’t give away the store.”
Among the improvements being sought are sound walls and landscaping to reduce noise and creating a “quiet zone” in which trains would be prohibited from sounding their horns through the village.
Frankfort has been a leader in a coalition of communities that has opposed the merger. CN has estimated that it will increase freight trains on the EJ&E tracks from only a few to as many as 28 per day.