The following story appeared at chicagotribune.com on December 4, 2008)
CHICAGO, Il – Amtrak has dropped its opposition to the hotly debated sale of a suburban Chicago railway line after reaching an agreement with Canadian National Railway on track maintenance, officials said Wednesday.
CN wants to buy the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway line that swings around Chicago. The rail passenger service worried CN would abandon or stop maintaining other Chicago-area tracks if it went through with the $300 million sale—jeopardizing Amtrak’s service from Chicago to Champaign, Carbondale and other cities.
But under the agreement, Montreal-based CN will maintain the St. Charles Air Line tracks even if federal officials approve its purchase and it switches trains to the EJ&E.