(The following story by Chad Brooks appeared on the Daily Herald website on November 13.)
BARRINGTON, Ill. — With the sale of one of the major railways through the Barrington area now a possible reality, the community is making sure its concerns are heard.
Canadian National Railroad is seeking federal approval in its bid to buy the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Co., which has a line that runs right through the heart of the Barrington communities.
Village presidents and township supervisors in the Barrington area are joining together to form a coalition — Barrington Communities Against CN Rail Congestion — designed to make sure their communities’ interests are defended during the regulatory review process that precedes the possible sale.
Multiple issues concern community officials, including how an increased amount of trains on the line will affect traffic.
“I believe that this has become our communities’ worst threat ever,” said Dave Nelson, Cuba Township supervisor.
The EJ&E line crosses through the area on Ela Road, Cuba Road, Lake Zurich Road, Route 14, Route 59, Lake-Cook Road, Otis Road, and Penny Road, as well as crossing the Union Pacific tracks in the village of Barrington.
In its application with the United States Surface Transportation Board — the federal authority that has the right to approve or deny the deal — CN would use the acquired EJ&E railroad lines as a Chicago bypass route for all current and future freight traffic from its Canadian and U.S. rail network.
CN has said the overall environmental effect of the sale would benefit the greater Chicago metropolitan area, and that the re-routing of its trains from the city’s inner core to the outskirts of Chicago would reduce the railroad’s total environmental impact in the region.
The acquisition, CN officials said, would result in improved reliability and service to both its and EJ&E customers.
While CN feels the sale may be good for the region as a whole, officials in the Barrington area are concerned what the sale will do locally.
Barrington Village President Karen Darch said if the sale goes through, CN is estimating that the impact could be as much as an additional 15 trains on the line per day.
However that number, Darch said, is sure to rise in the coming years.
“We think it is a number much greater than that,” Darch said, adding that currently only about five trains use the line daily.
Barrington Area Unit District 220 school board President Brian Battle said the district’s school buses travel over the line nearly 400 times a day.
“There clearly would be a significant impact on travel times,” Battle said.
While the review process is under way, Darch said the coalition will be actively involved in the Surface Transportation Board’s consideration of CN’s application to make sure the agency conducts a complete review, including a comprehensive environmental impact study.
“We have engaged attorneys and engineers to help us through this process,” Darch said.
Those interested in helping in the process are encouraged to sign up on Barrington’s village web site, www.ci.barrington.il.us.