(The following story by Vanessa Renderman appeared on the Munster Times website on December 11.)
SCHERERVILLE, Ind. — Schererville officials are looking for strength in numbers in their opposition to the sale of the EJ&E tracks to Canadian National Railway Co.
The sale would triple the number of trains running through Schererville and further tie up traffic at the Kennedy Avenue and 213th Street crossings, Town Manager Bob Volkmann said.
The town is filing as a party of record with the Surface Transportation Board, the body that needs to approve the purchase. When a party of record submits documentation to the board, it goes to all parties of record on the list, Volkmann said.
The list includes Griffith, Dyer, Merrillville and agencies such as Metra, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and the International Port of Memphis.
Adding Schererville to the list will help the town stay up to speed with developments regarding the railroad sale, Volkmann said.
Several Illinois communities have requested an environmental impact study, which would probably include the entire track line, he said.
Schererville Councilman Tom Schmitt said he’d like to see the Indiana towns team up with those in Illinois because they share the same concerns.
Aside from the traffic congestion, some of the tracks run near residences, such as those in Briar Cove and Briar Ridge.
“You’ve got tracks running right past people’s houses,” he said.
The town has to do what it can to fight it.
“We have to, otherwise it could just show up one day and that would be devastating,” Schmitt said.
Schererville also has been in communication with U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar, R-Ind., and U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., about the sale, Volkmann said.
Dyer Town Manager Joe Neeb said Dyer will not benefit from the sale of the EJ&E to Canadian National.
Trains back up traffic on U.S. 30, and it takes time for the traffic flow to reset itself. The town also has a CSX line running through, so those will have to be closely coordinated, Neeb said.
“With different trains in town, we’ll have additional traffic,” he said. “We don’t think it’s good for the town.”