(The following story by Dan Campana appeared on the Suburban Chicago News website on July 3.)
AURORA, Ill. — They sat 20-deep heading east on Ogden Avenue Tuesday morning.
For two minutes and seven seconds, drivers waited patiently as a relatively short freight train motored south on the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway line on Aurora’s far East Side. The proposed purchase of those tracks by Canadian National Railway — which would lead to a greater number of freight trains, and longer ones at that — brought Mayor Tom Weisner and U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert to the crossing that sees 47,000 daily vehicle trips across it.
Biggert met with Weisner, as well as other city officials, as part of a fact-gathering tour. As the federal Surface Transportation Board considers the environmental impact of CN’s plan, Biggert wants more details about the public safety and traffic implications, as well as the quality of life and economic development concerns, of a CN deal on the communities the tracks cross.
“The impact this merger could have on everything from school buses to emergency responders is severe,” said Biggert, of Hinsdale.
CN wants the EJ&E line to reroute freight traffic around the city of Chicago by using the 198 miles of track that extends from northwest Indiana to Chicago’s northern suburbs. Suburban municipal and county leaders have formed The Regional Answer to Canadian National Coalition to act as a strong voice of opposition and concern.
Tuesday’s group, which included East Side Aldermen Leroy Keith and Rick Mervine, toured the Ogden crossing where officials noted the track’s proximity to a nearby subdivision, the amount of traffic seen on Ogden and other effects CN could have on the area.
Increased freight traffic through Aurora might derail plans to quiet trains on the EJ&E line, Keith said.
“We’ll probably lose our ability to get the quiet zone if this sale goes through,” he explained.
Officials also expressed concern with siting the proposed suburban commuter train service, called the STAR line, if CN added a second set of tracks next to the current EJ&E route. As drawn, the commuter line would connect 100 communities between Joliet and O’Hare airport.
“When you add in the second line, there not enough right-of-way for the STAR line,” Keith added.
Weisner, a co-chairman of TRAC, vowed the fight will continue and that no one “is going to lay down and play dead” to Canadian National.
“The city of Aurora will continue to work with other towns along the EJ&E to ensure that our voices are heard and that proper steps are taken to mitigate the impact of any potential railway merger,” the mayor said.
On Sunday, Weisner attended a community rally in Barrington and then attended a TRAC meeting on Monday.
“I’ve had a busy couple of days on this issue,” Weisner said.
He announced a joint event July 23 by Aurora and Naperville on the railway plan.
“It will be both informational, as well as a rally,” Weisner said.