(The Associated Press circulated the following on January 23, 2009.)
CHICAGO — A federal appeals court on Thursday rejected an emergency request from towns around Chicago to postpone Canadian National Railway’s $300 million purchase of the EJ&E Railroad.
The communities “have not satisfied the stringent standards required for a stay pending court review,” according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
The U.S. Surface Transportation Board last month gave conditional approval to CN’s merger with the EJ&E, which has a 198-mile line that encircles the Chicago area from Gary to Waukegan. The approval becomes effective today.
In the Southland, the EJ&E line runs through Chicago Heights, Park Forest, Matteson, Frankfort, Mokena and New Lenox.
The federal board found that the merger would allow CN to route its freight trains on the EJ&E tracks, substantially reducing rail gridlock in and around Chicago. The region is a vital but increasingly clogged hub of the U.S. rail network.
Karen Darch, mayor of Barrington and spokesman for the suburban coalition opposed to the deal, said the opponents were disappointed with the court’s decision. The coalition will pursue having the appeals court review the board’s decision at a later date, Darch said.
The affected Southland towns as well as some north and west suburbs oppose the rail merger, fearing that the expected tripling of CN traffic from a few trains a day to more than 20 on the EJ&E tracks would pose safety risks, increase noise and snarl traffic.