THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2008
Studies For RR Purchase On Hold
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean (D-8th) are calling on the federal Surface Transportations Board (STB) to put the brakes on Canadian National Railroad's request to fast track environmental impact studies related to its purchase of the EJ&E railway.
On Tuesday, May 13, CN filed a request that the environmental study be completed in six months, allowing them to more quickly move forward with the purchase.
In a joint written statement, Durbin and Bean challenged that, saying the environmental impact study would take a minimum of 18 months to several years.
CN spokesman Jim Kvedaras said another major rail deal---the Con Rail deal several years ago---finished the environmental impact study in 11 months. He said the EJ&E deal covers only 200 miles over Illinois and a small part of Indiana.
CN officials say that, though rail traffic would be increased in areas near Elgin and South Barrington, a rail line running from Mundelein and Wheeling through Rosemont, Schiller Park and into the center of the City of Chicago would be reduced from 19 trains a day to two.
He said, if the six month environmental study is granted and no other major issues arise, roughly one third of those trains would be diverted to the EJ&E line as early as Jan. 1, 2009.
He said another third would be diverted after one year and the rest after two years.
Durbin said the planned purchase could also affect the planned Metra STAR line that would connect suburbs on a new Metra line---a charge CN disputes.
"We will not be obstructionist," said Kvedaras in reference to the STAR line. "We have gone on record saying we will work with Metra to find a way."
Kvedaras said CN shares the Metra electric line using parallel tracks and shares the Metra North Central line using the same tracks. He said both of those models are possible and both have been successful.