(The following story by Andre Salles appeared on the St. Charles Sun website on January 9.)
CHICAGO — On Christmas Eve, the federal Surface Transportation Board approved the $300 million sale of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad to Canadian National Railway Company, leaving local opponents of the deal wondering what to do next.
Friday, members of a local coalition formed to try to scuttle the deal will meet in Bartlett to regroup and discuss options. But officials from The Regional Answer to Canadian National (TRAC) say there are only a couple of ways they can go from here.
One is to continue to petition federal lawmakers who have opposed the deal from the beginning.
Another is legal action, which a couple of area municipalities already have taken. On Tuesday, the village of Bartlett voted to petition the STB for a stay, claiming the federal agency failed to comply with environmental laws when issuing its approval.
Bartlett officials say the purpose of the stay would be to prevent CN from increasing the number of trains on the EJ&E tracks until a federal judge rules on an appeal of the STB’s decision, filed by the village of Barrington and Will County earlier this week.
All three of those municipalities are members of TRAC, and over the past year they have argued that the increased train traffic would cause backups at intersections, disrupt emergency services and increase the chance for accidents and injuries.
But Canadian National officials, who plan to divert trains from an already overcrowded Chicago rail system, say the deal will have many benefits for the entire region.
The STB did hand down several conditions for the deal, including making CN responsible for 67 percent of construction costs for the Ogden Avenue crossing upgrade in Aurora, estimated to cost $40 million to $50 million.
But TRAC members are still hoping they can negate the deal, or at least put more restrictions and conditions on the railway company. If the STB’s approval stands, the sale will take effect on Jan. 23.
TRAC meets at 9:30 a.m. today.