2025 MOW Spending Report: Passenger-rail programs
Gardner steps down as Amtrak CEO
Guest comment: Oliver Wyman’s David Hunt
Women of Influence in Rail eBook
Newsletter Sign Up
Stay updated on news, articles and information for the rail industry
Stay updated on news, articles and information for the rail industry
railPrime
RAIL EMPLOYMENT & NOTICES
Rail News Home
Passenger Rail
Rail News: Passenger Rail
3/12/2008
Rail News: Passenger Rail
CN addresses Illinois congressmens' concerns over EJ&E acquisition
advertisement
Earlier this month, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.) met with Canadian National Railway Co. President and Chief Executive Officer E. Hunter Harrison to discuss potential impacts of the Class I’s proposal to acquire a major portion of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway (EJ&E).
Their biggest concerns: that the acquisition would jeopardize Illinois Amtrak service and Metra’s proposed 55-mile STAR Line, and increase rail congestion and noise through communities along the line.
As a follow-up to the meeting, Harrison re-addressed the lawmakers’ concerns in a recent letter. CN will allow Amtrak to continue operating indefinitely on the St. Charles Airline after CN trains are rerouted off the line and onto the EJ&E, preserving Amtrak’s access to Chicago Union Station and enabling the railroad to continue providing service to downstate Illinois, he wrote. The Class I also will cap Amtrak’s maintenance costs for the line at the current level, indexed for inflation in future years, Harrison said.
The acquisition would not pose a threat to Metra’s STAR Line, and CN will work with the commuter-rail agency on the project as well as “explore all options for this service, including the use of enhanced EJ&E rail lines,” he wrote.
In addition, CN will meet with communities to discuss a range of mitigation options to address their concerns over increased freight traffic. The railroad will spend about $40 million on mitigation-related measures, Harrison said.
Their biggest concerns: that the acquisition would jeopardize Illinois Amtrak service and Metra’s proposed 55-mile STAR Line, and increase rail congestion and noise through communities along the line.
As a follow-up to the meeting, Harrison re-addressed the lawmakers’ concerns in a recent letter. CN will allow Amtrak to continue operating indefinitely on the St. Charles Airline after CN trains are rerouted off the line and onto the EJ&E, preserving Amtrak’s access to Chicago Union Station and enabling the railroad to continue providing service to downstate Illinois, he wrote. The Class I also will cap Amtrak’s maintenance costs for the line at the current level, indexed for inflation in future years, Harrison said.
The acquisition would not pose a threat to Metra’s STAR Line, and CN will work with the commuter-rail agency on the project as well as “explore all options for this service, including the use of enhanced EJ&E rail lines,” he wrote.
In addition, CN will meet with communities to discuss a range of mitigation options to address their concerns over increased freight traffic. The railroad will spend about $40 million on mitigation-related measures, Harrison said.
