Illinois reps, senators oppose CP-KCS merger

U.S. lawmakers from Illinois and suburban government officials yesterday announced their opposition to the current terms of the proposed merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern.

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) yesterday led a press conference at the Metra station in Hanover Park, Illinois, to announce that he, U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Rep. Marie Newman (all D-Ill.) have informed the Surface Transportation Board that they oppose the merger under its current terms because it would “more than triple” freight-rail traffic on the CP line that runs between Bensenville and Elgin. The merger proposal is under review by the STB.

Joining Krishnamoorthi at the conference were Hanover Park Mayor Rod Craig and other local elected officials. In a letter to the STB, the federal lawmakers said the proposed $31 billion merger would impact local emergency services response time; drastically delay commuter-rail operations; and negatively affect the environment, noise levels and pedestrian safety.

The lawmakers noted similar concerns expressed by a coalition of local communities and Metra regarding the merger’s potential impact. They urged the STB to hear directly from the communities’ and Metra’s representatives.

"As things stand, this merger would more than triple freight-rail traffic between Bensenville and Elgin while providing no meaningful mitigation or relief to local communities for the negative consequences that rail activity will have in terms of public safety, noise increases, environmental impacts and the timely function of local Metra service," Krishnamoorthi said in a press release.