CHICAGO - Opponents of the proposed purchase of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway by Canadian National Railway celebrated Monday (Nov. 24) when the federal Surface Transportation Board issued a letter to six members of the U.S. House of Representatives stating that the board's decision on the deal would not be announced until next year -- after the purchase agreement for the railroad had expired, which would likely kill the deal, the Sun-Times reports.
"At this time, we anticipate that the board will issue a Final Environmental Impact Statement sometime in the next few weeks. This will push a final decision in the matter to sometime early in 2009," stated the letter, which was dated Friday and faxed to Rep. Pete Visclosky's Washington office shortly after noon on Monday.
The letter was sent to Visclosky and five other representatives from northern Illinois in response to a joint letter they sent the transportation board on Nov. 17, in which they objected to yet another letter that the U.S. Department of Transportation sent the Surface Transportation Board asking for a decision to be hastened in CN's case.
The issue of when the transportation board makes its decision in the case is crucial because the $300 million purchase agreement CN negotiated with U.S. Steel, which owns the EJ&E, expires at the end of this year. So unless board approval comes in 2008, it will do CN no good, as U.S. Steel has so far been unwilling to extend the purchase agreement into 2009.
As has been the company's practice, U.S. Steel spokesman D. John Armstrong declined to comment on whether the company would be willing to extend the agreement now, especially in light of the struggling steel market, forwarding any questions to CN.
However, any hope that the sale would die was tempered somewhat when the transportation board issued a follow-up e-mail to the six congressional offices later Monday afternoon.
"Please know that it was simply an acknowledgement letter, and that any official timeframes for the proceedings should follow Decision 13," the e-mail stated.
Decision 13 was issued in July, and it stated that a Final Environmental Impact Statement would be completed by December or January and that a board decision on the purchase would follow soon after.
"There were no uncertain terms in that (first) letter," said Jacob Ritvo, spokesman for Visclosky. "Their word choice was clear, and words have meaning."
The news, however tentative, is welcome to the Northwest Indiana communities that would have seen a tripling in train traffic under the proposed purchase.
"If it doesn't go through, and the train traffic doesn't increase, I'd feel we accomplished what we're after, which is not to burden our town and the surrounding towns," said Tom Schmitt, councilman in Schererville. "So if that gets stopped, it'd be OK."
Canadian National, while not commenting on the letter directly, issued a statement saying that it remains confident that the transportation board will issue a decision, "within a time frame that will allow this transaction to close and its benefits to be realized."
(This item appeared in the Sun-Times Nov. 25, 2008.)
(The following story by Richard Wronski appeared on the Chicago Tribune website on November 26.)
CHICAGO Opponents of the Canadian National Railway's proposed purchase of a rail line through Chicago's suburbs hope that the election of Barack Obama will bolster their arguments against the deal, but CN's leader is scoffing at the notion.
Chairman E. Hunter Harrison has said he doesn't think Obama's opposition will be a factor in the U.S. Surface Transportation Board's decision on CN's planned $300 million purchase of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway.
Harrison played down a letter that Obama sent in June to CN opponents, spelling out his opposition to the deal. In an interview last week with Canada's Financial Post, Harrison also said he expects a decision on the deal before the end of the year.
"With due respect, the president-elect doesn't have standing in making this decision," Harrison said.
Harrison also said he believes there is "little, if any, doubt" that CN will get the go-ahead to buy the EJ&E and use it as a bypass to move freight around Chicago's congested rail corridor. Harrison was unavailable Tuesday, a CN spokeswoman said.
Harrison's comments have rankled opponents of the deal, who have long accused CN of trying to pressure the three-member board to make a quick decision.
Karen Darch, village president of Barrington and co-chairwoman of a coalition of suburbs opposed to the CN deal, said she found it "odd" that Harrison appears to question whether Obama would still oppose the deal.
"The man's going to be president of the U.S., and he won't lose his sensitivity to the impact this will have on the local communities," Darch said.
Obama has outlined his position in the letter to Darch. "I am opposed to this merger as currently proposed and will work with affected communities to make certain that their views are considered as part of the Surface Transportation Board process," he wrote.
Obama also said he was concerned about "the potential hardships for communities associated with increased freight traffic."
The transportation board won't make a decision on the acquisition until after a final environmental impact statement is issued, which is expected in the next few weeks.
The decision could come before Dec. 31, which CN says is the deadline set by the EJ&E's owner, U.S. Steel, for closing the deal. CN has said missing the deadline could jeopardize its purchase.
Opponents were heartened by a letter Friday from a board official to local members of Congress, which said the board's decision wouldn't come until "sometime early in 2009." But Matthew Wallen, the board's director of the office of public assistance and governmental affairs, told the Tribune that he misspoke and did not mean to preclude an earlier board decision.
Though board members are appointed by the president, it seems that Obama is unlikely to have a direct influence, at least for the time being. One member's term, that of W. Douglas Buttrey, is due to expire Dec. 31. Obama will not be sworn in until Jan. 20.
Joseph Schofer, a transportation expert at Northwestern University, said Obama is already using the "bully pulpit" to influence decisions being made in Washington.
But CN agrees ta maintain lines for shared access between its trains, and allow Amtrak's continued useage. CN, Amtrak agree on Chicago line access Earlier commitments made by Canadian National are embodied in an agreement announced Wednesday that will ensure Amtrak's continued access to the St. Charles Air Line route for its trains between Union Station in Chicago and downstate Illinois destinations, including Carbondale and Champaign. The agreement is part of CN's continuing effort to ease concerns about its proposed acquisition of the principal lines of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern, to which it would divert some of the freight traffic that now moves through Chicago. The agreement also provides for CN to continue to maintain the route used by Amtrak.
-- Edited by Uke at 12:38, 2008-12-04
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Hmm. That address doesnt look right. It looks like the link pointing here was faulty.
Echoing the sentiments of a divided Chicago region, federal regulators issued their final report Friday on the environmental impact of the Canadian National Railway merging with the smaller EJ&E railroad, finding it will ease freight traffic in Chicago and nearby suburbs but cause problems for some towns along the "J."
The report issued by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board gave a list of conditions CN must follow to ease negative impacts of buying the EJ&E but seemed to assume the deal would move forward.
CN is proposing to buy the smaller EJ&E, which runs in an arc between Waukegan and Gary, Ind. It would move freight trains from its lines in Chicago and nearby suburbs onto the EJ&E tracks, which CN contends will ease a bottleneck in the city. However, residents along the EJ&E fear the move will cause traffic, safety problems and environmental hazards.
Reaction predictably followed along the battle lines that have been drawn for a year since CN first announced its intentions.
"I'd like to say I'm surprised, but I'm not the least bit surprised," said Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner. "The (STB) consulting staff has been fairly consistent in disappointing anyone who believes a fair, in-depth analysis of this deal is in order. We've basically seen a rubber stamp here."
"To say (the report) is a disappointment is a huge understatement," Barrington Village President Karen Darch said.
While both Barrington and Aurora have fought the transaction for months, Buffalo Grove is among a number of Cook County communities crossed by CN tracks that endorse it.
The government's voluminous report "leaves no doubt that this was a comprehensive and extensive examination," Buffalo Grove Trustee Jeff Berman said. "This appears to be a very strong recommendation for approval with conditions that are reasonable and take into account the positive and negative effects of the transaction."
Buffalo Grove would stand to gain by the approval since it would see less train traffic. Still, Berman said that while he felt opponents have overstated the potential negatives of the deal, he's glad to see the report address ways to mitigate those effects.
STB planners recommend two grade separations be constructed near Aurora and in the South suburbs on the EJ&E tracks and that CN pay for 15 percent of the cost.
It also sets a five-year monitoring period in which CN would be answerable to the agency to ensure it complies with their suggestions. Other steps include assisting 13 emergency responder facilities along the "J" that might be affected by more trains.
The report is significant but not the final step, as Surface Transportation Board members have yet to vote on it and one representative at least on the three-person panel opposes the merger. As far as timing goes, the report must first be published in the federal register Dec. 12 before a decision is made. Typically, agencies must wait 30 days after publication to rule but the STB is empowered to act before that.
CN officials praised the report, calling it "exhaustive and comprehensive," and urged the board to make a decision quickly. The Canadian railway is facing a Dec. 31 deadline to close the deal with EJ&E's owner, U.S. Steel.
The STB staff's analysis outlines a number of conditions CN needs to follow if the merger is approved.
Contribute 15 percent toward the Aurora-area and Linwood-grade separations. Cooperate with communities to install warning signs at grade crossings in Hawthorn Woods, Lake Zurich, Barrington and in Plainfield.
Pay for the installation of video cameras at railway crossings located near hospitals, fire and police departments so train blockages can be monitored. These emergency services include Lake Zurich Rural Fire Protection District Station 3, Barrington Fire Department Station 1, Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, Bartlett Fire Protection District's future Station 3, West Chicago Fire Protection District Stations 1 and Station 3 and Plainfield Fire Protection District Station 3.
Notify Fermilab officials in Batavia of changes such as major increases in train speed that could cause significant vibrations.
Work with Barrington to make improvements so the village can maintain its Quiet Zone designation.
Appoint an environmental liaison to work with all levels of government to monitor natural resources, such as forest preserves, along the EJ&E tracks for five years.
Take measures to ensure the habitats of the Indiana bat and Hine's emerald dragonfly, which are threatened species, are not destroyed.
Avoid construction along tracks within Pratt's Wayne Woods Forest Preserve in northwest DuPage County that would disturb bird nesting.
Regarding one concern, that the merger will kill the proposed STAR line, a Metra commuter line connecting suburbs from Will to Cook counties, the STB concluded the transaction would not hurt it. Metra officials had no comment although they have said the fact CN does not want STAR line trains to use the EJ&E tracks as originally planned could hurt the project.
Planners also noted that CN could have leased the EJ&E tracks to put freight on instead of going through the STB process.
In terms of quality of life, the report somewhat obviously notes that added freights creating more noise "would annoy residents located near the EJ&E line." But it adds that the problem wasn't likely to be great enough to cause people to move.
The Illinois congressional delegation has split on the issue in a bipartisan manner. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and U.S. Reps. Melissa Bean, a Barrington Democrat, Bill Foster, a Geneva Democrat and Judy Biggert, a Hinsdale Republican all issued scathing criticisms of the move.
"Unjust and un-American," was how Bean described the report in a statement. The analysis leaves taxpayers to pay for the bulk of safety features, contains no teeth to ensure recommendations will be enforced and ignores the implications for the STAR line, she concluded.
Weisner scoffed at the amount STB regulators suggest CN pay for grade separations, which are astronomical in cost.
"Even though 15 percent for a grade crossing is unprecedented for CN, on a $50 million deal, (that) is only $7.5 million. Plus, the truth of the matter is at least 13 or more separations are needed over the next few years and there's no participation from CN on that," he said.
Darch called the report "just woefully inadequate" and said it appeared the concerns of thousands of citizens and leaders who went on record opposing the transaction "fell on deaf ears."
"If the (Surface Transportation Board) uses this document, which disregards so many important issues ... it would be a travesty," Darch said.
But U.S. Rep. Daniel Lipinski, a Western Springs Democrat who sits on the powerful House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee backed the STB staff, saying "many communities in my district and across this region will see fewer freight trains, fewer blocked crossings and fewer train whistles in the middle of the night. The STB needs to move expeditiously on this. It's important to the region and the nation."
CN has offered to pay about $60 million to remedy problems caused by the extra traffic, which could add more than 20 trains to some communities.
Daily Herald staff writers Jake Griffin and Diana Wallace contributed to this report.
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Some people say I have a bad attitude. Those people are stupid.
