(Dow Jones Newsires circulated the following story by Monica Gutschi on April 14, 2009.)
TORONTO Canadian National Railway Co. (CNI) says it is unhappy about the frequency with which its trains are blocking street crossings in Chicago and plans ways to cut them back.
In the first of its monthly reports to the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, the Montreal-based railroad said there were 50 instances in February and March during which one of its trains blocked a street crossing for more than 10 minutes.
Most took place before CN Rail began operating the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway on March 11, and most took place between midnight and 5 a.m., the railroad said in its report. Nevertheless, CN Rail said it working to reduce the frequency of such events through better communications, crew training, and positioning of railcars. As well, it said the infrastructure investments it plans to make in the area will help reduce the number of future blockages.
CN Rail's report to the STB also noted it had three accidents in the Chicago area during February and March, two of which took place on the EJ&E after it took over the short-line railway.
CN Rail purchased a major portion of the EJ&E for $300 million last year in a bid to reduce the most significant bottleneck on its network. The purchase was widely opposed by residents and municipalities bordering Chicago worried about increased train frequency, environmental damage and the potential for traffic delays.
As part of its approval of the acquisition, the STB has mandated monthly operating reports and quarterly environmental reports over a five-year oversight period.
(The following story by Erik Potter appeared on the Post-Tribune website on April 16, 2009.)
GARY, Ind. Documents submitted by the Canadian National Railway Co. show that the railroad caused seven road blockages in Lake County in February and March, with one more than two hours long in Gary.
Canadian National Railway Co. submitted its first report to the federal Surface Transportation Board on Tuesday, a requirement of the agency's decision to approve CN's purchase of the Gary-based Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Co.
Along the entire length of the railroad, which has incorporated only two additional trains since CN's purchase, 50 blockages were reported, the longest lasting for two hours and 50 minutes in Park Forest, Ill.
In Indiana, the seven delays ranged from 13 minutes at 9th Avenue to two hours and 17 minutes at Center Road, both in Gary.
"We're not satisfied with the number of blockings that have occurred," said CN Spokesman Patrick Waldron, stressing that the company is undergoing system-wide improvements to its tracks and switches to help current train traffic move better and allow additional train traffic to be added to the line.
CN has a three-year plan in which it will build up traffic on the EJ&E line to roughly three times what it is now in Indiana. The four local communities opposed CN's purchase of the line because of the promised increase in traffic, but ultimately signed on to agreements with the railroad in which CN promised to help them deal with some of the adverse effects of the added trains.
CN inked its deal with Gary, the last of the four affected Indiana communities to sign, on Monday.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Suburban officials and residents came to the Capitol Wednesday to protest Canadian National Railway running trains on EJ&E tracks throughout the suburbs for the past two months, according to the Chicago Daily Herald.
In March, CN reported 50 blockages of 10 minutes or more to traffic crossings in the suburbs. An additional 14 were reported for April.
State Sen. Linda Holmes, an Aurora Democrat, has sponsored a resolution in the Senate asking President Obama to appoint a third member to the United States Surface Transportation Board. "He knows us personally and he should take this seriously," said Holmes.
A lobbying group called TRAC, or The Regional Answer to Canadian National, is upset by what it believes are added public safety concerns and traffic congestion from the trains.
It wants a new member appointed who is a community-minded person to fill the vacancy. The current two-member board is holding up court decisions because the two are split on the issue of whether CN should have to pay money previously agreed upon to the communities, said Kim Morreale, a spokeswoman for TRAC.
"There are legal proceedings that rely on the STB's ability to make further rulings related to the CN acquisition which is why it is vital that President Obama make a swift decision on the vacant board seat," said House Republican leader Tom Cross of Oswego.
CN officials said most blockages were between midnight and 5 a.m. when traffic congestion was at a minimum.
"By enabling CN to shift many of its trains from downtown Chicago to the less densely populated area surrounding the EJ&E line, this transaction will result in twice as many Chicago area communities seeing decreased freight train traffic as will see increased traffic," said Patrick Waldron, CN spokesman.
State Rep. Darlene Senger, a Naperville Republican, has a similar resolution in the Illinois House to be sent to Congress.
"There is bipartisan support in Illinois in asking the he act swiftly to protect the interests of residents throughout the state."
(This item appeared May 14, 2009, in the Chicago Daily Herald.)
On the history channel, they have a program going what it would look like when man is totally gone. They used buildings in Gary as examples of what it would look like in 30 years.
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I started ophph with nuthin, and I can safely say I have most of it left.... <img
I saw that. Show is called Life After People. They used the old B&O station as one of their examples of what happens to a structure after 30+ years of no maintenance.
