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CN has reached a mitigation agreement with an 11th community affected by the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Co. (EJ&E) acquisition. Yesterday, the Class I announced a pact with the city of West Chicago that addresses the municipality's traffic, emergency response and noise concerns.

Under the agreement, CN will help create and maintain quiet zones, install safety fencing, implement noise mitigation measures, provide emergency response personnel training and emergency communication improvements, and address other specific transportation issues.

"Our community liaison officer has communicated directly with all 33 communities affected by the [EJ&E] purchase and is engaged in a series of outreach meetings with them to describe in detail the multi-year phase of our acquisition,” said Gordon Trafton, CN’s senior vice president-Southern Region, in a prepared statement. "In addition, we have invited two representatives of each of the 33 communities to attend a one-week training program for railroad hazardous material training at a rail industry center in Pueblo, Colo., at CN's expense.”

The Class I previous reached voluntary mitigation agreements with Chicago Heights, Crest Hill, Frankfort, Hoffman Estates, Joliet, Mokena and Mundelein, Ill.; and Dyer, Griffith and Schererville, Ind. CN acquired a major portion of the EJ&E on Jan. 31 and began integrating the railroad into its system shortly afterward.