(The following story by Guy Tridgell appeared on the Southtown Star website on November 12.)
CHICAGO — Towns on the EJ&E Railroad should find out next week if they need to brace for more trains.
The Surface Transportation Board, the federal agency that regulates railroad mergers and acquisitions, will conduct a hearing Tuesday on the proposed sale of the “J” to the Canadian National Railway Co.
The hearing should provide the strongest indication yet whether the board will approve or reject CN’s application to buy the EJ&E for $300 million and start rerouting trains into the suburbs.
The EJ&E runs in an arc across the Chicago area, cutting through suburbs such as Frankfort, Mokena, New Lenox and Matteson.
Towns along the line are protesting CN’s plans to increase EJ&E traffic from as few as four trains a day to as many as 40.
A board spokesman said next week’s hearing will allow the three board members to question staff members who are conducting an environmental review of the EJ&E sale.
The board could decide the issue requires additional research. Or it could ask for a quick conclusion to all regulatory studies into the sale.
Richton Park Mayor Rick Reinbold said he hopes the three members decide the potential effect of CN’s plans needs more review, putting the sale in peril.
CN has said it needs a decision from the board before Dec. 31 or the current EJ&E owners, U.S. Steel, will walk away from the deal.
A federal court Monday rejected CN’s attempts to force the board to make a ruling by the end of the year.
The board has said a decision will be issued after Dec. 1, though it could wait until early next year.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed,” Reinbold said. “I hope and pray the Surface Transportation Board makes the right decision.”
The U.S. Department of Transportation is putting pressure on the board to make up its mind.
In an Oct. 27 letter to the board, the department asked for a final decision in a “timely manner.”
“The risk to the pending transaction is admittedly uncertain, but it appears that the risk can be avoided entirely with only more ambitious schedule,” a department lawyer wrote.