Does anyone know if the Canadian National Railway acquisition of the EJ&J line would be a positive or a negative for Glen Ellyn? I have been a resident since 1998, and the freight traffic now seems to be substantially higher than is was back in the 90's. I also use Metra during the week and trains are constantly delayed due to "waiting on other trains." It seems like we average a train every 15 minutes during the day. It would be hard to imagine our freight train traffic getting worse, but I can't find any information on whether we might be one of the lucky towns that sees a decrease in traffic.
The CN site claims that "other suburbs" will see decreased traffic but I can't find anywhere on their site which suburbs that means. My guess is that freight traffic is only going to increase in all suburbs, whether this sale goes through or not.
Personally, I think the sale should happen, but I think CN needs to put up way more than the $40M for noise/traffic relief that they're proposing. That's only enough cash for 1 or 2 overpasses. I spend a little time in those areas, and a ten minute wait for a train on some of those major thoroughfares during rush hour would be about a mile backup.
The purchase of the EJ&E by CN would NOT reduce train traffic in Glen Ellyn, but it would reduce the amount of trains that sit idle on the tracks in Glen Ellyn.
Every class one railroad in the US and Canada passes through Chicago. Add some of the smaller railroads and METRA (running on class one lines) and you have a big mess. If the bulk of the CN traffic plus some additional interline traffic is moved out of the most congested areas, transit times for the UP should be reduced. Right now it takes as long to get from California to Chicago as it does to pass through Chicago.
My understanding is that it is primarily Cook County suburbs close to Chicago that may see a decrease in trains.
Think of the rail lines like our highway system. Imagine driving from WI to IN. The CN trains today mostly go right through Cook County, kind of like driving the Kennedy to the Dan Ryan. The EJE line will give the trains a city center bypass similar to I-294.
As perplexed noted, that displaced traffic should only help the other trains that are still using the primary corridor.
Posts: 88 | Location: Glen Ellyn, IL | Registered: October 22, 2003
Thanks for the info. It makes alot of sense, and as a Metra rider that takes the train all the way into Chicago, I hope the EJ&J bypass would at least reduce interference on the tracks.
i don't think it will make any difference here in glen ellyn. the UP opened up a huge multi-modal transfer point about 3 years ago west of dekalb in rochelle. they had said years ago at a public meeting (here in glen ellyn, around 2000) that this would reduce freight traffic and parked trains. while the incidence of parked trains may be down, i don't think the freight traffic is down at all. if it comes down to people (metra) or freight freight will always win. the UP makes no money moving people. i feel sorry for the people in barrington. they KNOW what's coming. when the UP bought the Northwestern in the mid-90's we had no idea what was coming. also, the railroads are so powerful that they usually get what they want. interesting factoid...ou congress. rep peter roskam is against this CP purchase and i think he's been at meetings in barrington. if you look at his contributors you'll find the UP...hmmmmmmm.
New Article about CN. From what I gather, US Steel is going to drop the sale to CN if they can't get the thing approved by the end of the year. It looks like CN is trying to keep US Steel at the table while we go through the often ridiculous environmental impact studies.
I just found a table on the Canadian National website that highlights the decrease in trains expected at various towns if the EJ&J acquisition goes through (see link below for detail). Long story short, there shouldn't be a big decrease for Glen Ellyn (only -1.3 trains per day). However, as a Metra rider I am intrigued because Bellwood is expected to see a 10.6 train / day decrease. Bellwood is on our train line into Chicago, and there is a big railyard out that way. We are constantly delayed during our commutes due to "waiting on other trains." Perhaps delay issues for Glen Ellyn Metra riders could be reduced if there is a large reduction in Bellwood trains that cross the commuter tracks each day. Just a thought.
GO WHITE SOX! Beat those Twins and let's bring a crosstown World Series to Chicago!
Nice hypothesis Soxfan, I hope you're right. If you look at a map, there is a north-south rail line that crosses over the UPRR line at Bellwood. I think that's the line with the 10.6 reduction. May not impact us much since there's already a grade separation there.
+1 on the Go Sox.
Posts: 88 | Location: Glen Ellyn, IL | Registered: October 22, 2003
