Canadian National officials willing to share rail crossing cost...

I live in downtown Barrington and there is good reason we are so opposed to this purchase and it has nothing to do with selfishness, privilege or anything else other than the horrendous traffic our small village already tolerates and the certain safety issues this would cause..

We currently have three major roads running right through the middle of our downtown (the combined Rt. 59 & Barrington Rd. and Lake Cook Rd) and both the east and north sides of our downtown are ringed by Northwest Highway (Rt. 14) and all intersect with one another. Add to that not one but two rail lines, EJ&E (freight) and Union Pacific (freight and Metra) which criss-cross through our downtown and village in several spots and an already terrible grid-lock becomes downright impassable and dangerous.

While we don't enjoy this traffic, we do tolerate it and live with it as our price to pay for living in Barrington. However, the EJ&E line, like the UP line, bisects our village in half with both our high school and hospital on one side and half the population they serve on the other.

I admit that I am not familiar with the potential detrimental changes to other towns along EJ&E or the potential positive changes to towns which would see less freight on other lines. However, I can tell you that railroads are almost god-like in their powers which date back to the great westward expansion of our country and I have a difficult time believing any significant commitment would be made to solve safety and quality of life problems in Barrington or anywhere else along EJ&E should this purchase go through.

So, CN finally admits that they expect the US taxpayer to foot the bill for the traffic and safety nightmare they will create with the EJ&E purchase.

Didn't CN justify this purchase partly by saying that a private corporation would solve Chicago freight rail congestion using private money, without government funding? Isn't that why this is supposed to be a better alternative to the public-private CREATE program?

Why should the US taxpayer subsidize the purchase of an Amercan asset by a highly profitable foreign corporation?

The EJ&E was never intented to handle the amount of freight CN plans to run on it. It will require huge investments in infrastructure and environmental mitigation. CN's plan is a dumb idea that won't work and is not in the public interest. Let them pay for it.

The people of Barrington are seemingly a little rusty on their economics and transportation education. Otherwise, they'd be more conscious to the fact that railroads bring in between 80 and 90%(probably more) of the raw materials required to manufacture and run their fancy cars, to keep their mansions heated and cooled, to keep their roads to drive their fancy cars on smooth and paved, to keep their "Best Buy" stocked so they can buy their I-Phones....The list goes on.
Maybe their political leaders should take a step back, survey the situation from a more intelligent perspective other than "our roads will be blocked by these 'meaningless' trains" and "grade crossings are more dangerous with more trains" (which is false anyway, it just forces the average "sheep syndrome" driver to pay more attention, but why punish stupid people, right?) and realize that the railroad is more a way of life for them than they truly understand. I say understand because these people obviously do not understand.
The last point to make is this: If EVERY freight train takes between 200 and 500 trucks off our roads, how can there be any argument about what is more economically friendly?
How the people of Barrington can fight something this excellent FOR THEIR OWN BENEFIT (since we're talking about how selfish they are) so blindly is completely beyond me and everyone else that takes the time to really analyze the situation at hand.

To add: Did all the residents of Barrington believe their real-estate agent when they were told the EJE was abandoned? The railroad was there first. Its not the railroad's problem that the town was designed without any foresight to what could happen with trains rolling through town. It's not the railroad's job to run trains and worry about civil engineering of towns along the route.

And just to set the record strait, Metra/UP and the EJE can't run trains at the exact same time through town. They cross at an interlocking just north of Main Street and if they ran at the same time they'd crash. Nice effort, though...Kudos for trying....

Let's play "Who's On First?" According to the Encyclopedia of Chicago, the Village of Barrington was incorporated in 1865. The EJ&E RR came to Barrington in 1889.
By the way, I wonder which railroad has local offices in Homewood?
(hint: it's initials are CN)

I understand that Mr. Harrison wants to build his business as he is CN's president and I believe passionate about railroading. I also wouldn't doubt if "MTPotter" is somehow connected to CN.
Message for Mr Harrison and other CN officials-- Get off your high horse and look in the mirror when you call people in Barrington selfish. Then take off your blinders and stop counting your anticipated bonuses and acknowledge that BARRINGTON IS NOT THE ONLY TOWN WITH GRAVE CONCERNS about what you want to do.
Leaders in Aurora, Hoffman Estates, Bartlett New Lenox, Mokena, Lake Zurich, Wauconda, Round Lake, Long Grave and Naperville are opposed to you buying the EJ&E and that is not a complete list. Many have filed formal opposition. Also leaders in towns farther West of the railroad such as Mc Henry are concerned of the potential negative impact. You want to take a rarely used freight line and turn it into an international "highway" and are discounting the ill effects this will have on the children, adults and vitality of impacted towns. You are singling out "Barrington" as being selfish when you only want to admit that 4 or 5 of over 100 "at grade" crossings need mitigation. And we don't care if Bobby can't sleep because trains are running half the night or if a train derails into a park. Give me a break!
The Suburban Transportation Commission in Lake County hosted a meeting Monday night. Hundreds of residents showed up on a night of an anticipated heavy snowfall because they are passionate about their children, schools, quality of life and towns. We saw elected federal and state officials and leaders from multiple towns express their opposition to this sale. CN had some people there. I overheard them arrogantly tell people "This sale is a done deal." and "the increase in trains won't be much initially- not until our port is done will you see the large increase"- as if a couple year delay is supposed to make it ok? How's that for playing fair.
I think you are trying to intimidate people from sending their comments to the Surface Transportation Board for the environmental impact study which is due this Friday the 15th. Because you know far more mitigation will be needed than just 4 or 5 grade separations resulting directly from this transaction. And who is calling who selfish?

Think Again wrote:

I understand that Mr. Harrison wants to build his business as he is CN's president and I believe passionate about railroading. I also wouldn't doubt if "MTPotter" is somehow connected to CN.
Message for Mr Harrison and other CN officials-- Get off your high horse and look in the mirror when you call people in Barrington selfish. Then take off your blinders and stop counting your anticipated bonuses and acknowledge that BARRINGTON IS NOT THE ONLY TOWN WITH GRAVE CONCERNS about what you want to do.
Leaders in Aurora, Hoffman Estates, Bartlett New Lenox, Mokena, Lake Zurich, Wauconda, Round Lake, Long Grave and Naperville are opposed to you buying the EJ&E and that is not a complete list. Many have filed formal opposition. Also leaders in towns farther West of the railroad such as Mc Henry are concerned of the potential negative impact. You want to take a rarely used freight line and turn it into an international "highway" and are discounting the ill effects this will have on the children, adults and vitality of impacted towns. You are singling out "Barrington" as being selfish when you only want to admit that 4 or 5 of over 100 "at grade" crossings need mitigation. And we don't care if Bobby can't sleep because trains are running half the night or if a train derails into a park. Give me a break!
The Suburban Transportation Commission in Lake County hosted a meeting Monday night. Hundreds of residents showed up on a night of an anticipated heavy snowfall because they are passionate about their children, schools, quality of life and towns. We saw elected federal and state officials and leaders from multiple towns express their opposition to this sale. CN had some people there. I overheard them arrogantly tell people "This sale is a done deal." and "the increase in trains won't be much initially- not until our port is done will you see the large increase"- as if a couple year delay is supposed to make it ok? How's that for playing fair.
I think you are trying to intimidate people from sending their comments to the Surface Transportation Board for the environmental impact study which is due this Friday the 15th. Because you know far more mitigation will be needed than just 4 or 5 grade separations resulting directly from this transaction. And who is calling who selfish?

You can add residents of the town of Griffith, IN to that list of people that are opposed to this. A portion of the EJ&E tracks that CN is trying to purchase are in the town of Griffith. These tracks run north-south in the backyards of many houses and then turn East-West throuhg our downtown, basically cutting the NW section of town off from the rest. Currently about 3-5 frieght trains/day utilize the EJ&E tracks. CN projects that train traffic to increase significantly. While our town is not as nice as Barrington,nor has a much name recognition, I as a resident am vehemently opposed to any increases in train traffic in my town. Increased train traffic results in increased road congestion, noise pollution, and it has a negative environmental impact on the land and the general happiness of resdents that live nearby.

MTPotter-Railroader wrote:

To add: Did all the residents of Barrington believe their real-estate agent when they were told the EJE was abandoned? The railroad was there first. Its not the railroad's problem that the town was designed without any foresight to what could happen with trains rolling through town. It's not the railroad's job to run trains and worry about civil engineering of towns along the route.
And just to set the record strait, Metra/UP and the EJE can't run trains at the exact same time through town. They cross at an interlocking just north of Main Street and if they ran at the same time they'd crash. Nice effort, though...Kudos for trying....

My town is does not consist of what you like to call wealthy people living in McMansions. My neighbors, myself included, are middle class office and factory workers that drive to jobs in Chicago and to other suburbs located in IL. CN would like to put their switching station in our town, quadrupling train traffic. At night, I hear 3-5/freight trains after the hours 11PM.(3-5 X 4) well that’s 12-20/per night at the minimum. These numbers do not include what I don't hear when I am at work. They are making promises of 40 local jobs in Griffith, yet the majority of the residents here oppose it and we are also being called selfish by surrounding communities.

To Griffith IN who shares similar concerns as Barrington (and many other towns)- your needs are just as important. Don't be intimidated. You only have 2 days to file your concerns to the Surface Transportation Board

Write to:

Surface Transportation Board

395 E Street, SW

Washington DC 20423

Attn: Phillis Johnson-Ball

Environmental Filing

STB Finance Docket No. 35087



Or file electronically on the Boards’ website, http://www.stb.dot.gov , by clicking on the “E-Filing” link.



It is important that your communications to the STB be as specific as possible in discussing your concerns and how you are impacted. If you are concerned about your child walking from Point A to Point B with increased freight traffic, tell the STB so! The STB staff needs to know when they do their review of the region’s impacts that they cannot rely upon plugging in equations and generalized assumptions, but that the region has some unique concerns based on our “on the ground” realities.

You have a town worth fighting for! Best Wishes

I have the solution. We will close all railroads because nobody wants them in there backyard. Then we will outlaw all trucks because they crowd the highways and we don't like the traffic. Then when industry and the economy collapses we will all move into the country and start farming with horse and ox teams.

Yes, lets make progress by stepping back into the past. NIMBY rules!!!

I have traveled through Griffith and found the community to be extremely nice. You have a great mix of higher end housing and more affordable housing. I am very familar with various train routes and your town will be devastated. You should speak to your local leaders and tell them to demand that the CN give Griffith a ton of concessions. All you have to do is look on a map and see that your town will be one of the most affected by this merger. Don't be fooled by their lies or half truths. The railroad is out to make money. Good luck.

You are being rediculous. Not everyone in Barrington is wealthy and this problem affects more communities than Barrington. The train line runs from Waukegan to Joliet..what about Bartlett, Hoffman Estates, West Chicago...Just to name a few. This is about public safety and quality of life, not about people getting their 60" flat panels. In Bartlett, we just passed a 4.5 million dollar referendum to build a 3rd fire station to service Bartlett and the surrounding communities. Guess what? That new fire station will be on the east side of the tracks. With 25+ trains passing through my community every day, there is a good possibility that when there is an emergency that a train will be blocking the track. That's just one of many concerns. What is the well being of your children worth to you? I'm sick and tired of this being an issue about the priviledged people in Barrington, it isn't. It's a problem for a lot of people. Freight is moving along just fine the way it is.
This has more to do with greed and Chicago politics than I care to go into.

EVERY person, town and business that will experience environmental impacts that result directly from CN buying the EJ&E needs to submit their concerns to the Surface Transportation Board.
It's not reasonable to ask CN to mitigate any preexisting conditions but only those that are a direct result of the merger. If your town currently has 5 trains a day and it's not a big deal (I assume not or else Bartlett would have never planned to build a fire station east of the tracks) but the INCREASE will cause problems--- you need to let the STB know of the problems the transaction will create. And CN needs to prepare to pay for the mitigation and not stick it to the US taxpayer. This merger is far from over unlike what CN wants to bullying people into believing

I've been at the J for a few years and no one on the J wants to be a part of the CN or any other railroad.
Kudos to all the communities that are fighting the CN's attempt to take over. What everyone has to know is that the CN does not play nice with others. They will try to smooth talk, but when someone objects, their true colors show. As they have.
I expect the CN to "give in" to some communities that are really troublesome, but what all communites should do is band together. There is power in numbers.
First the CN wants to run 30 trains a day from 7,(high hurdle) after four or five years they're going to want to run 33 a day and get an ok from the STB because the impact is not significant. Only three trains more a day.(low hurdle)
From everyone at the J, thank you to all that are against this, our reasons may not be the same, but hopefully the outcome will be.

To GRS-
thank you for your input- I also understand that customers of the J such as Arcelor Mittal aren't happy about the sale either and CN's lack of interest in local customers.
TO ALL TOWNS ALONG THE J- take note to GRS's comment on how CN will squeek more and more trains every few years. The STB really needs to evaluate the envioronmental transaction for more than just 3 years out. And for all the towns that are expecting big decreases in train traffic- remember who you are dealing with- they won't let those tracks idle for long- it wouldn't make much business sense

It's ironic, as I was sitting down to type this, Train Wrecks(shocking videos)was playing on Spike TV. Now I'm more concered than ever.
Let's not forget to write to old Mayor Daley,(you know the guy who carved Xs in Meigs Field in the dark of night)who is quitely pushing for this acquisition. cityofchicago.org
Let him know that we won't be able to visit his museums and events if we can't get past the train crossings.

I see alot of people are all upset about this merger well I have read the STB paper work and only about 8 letters of opposition were turned in to them and most of those were from other companys thinking they would be affected. And for the Griffith residents why was there only 400 signatures on your petition to stop this I think most of you just need something to b*tch about.

Although late to the game, I'm shocked at Done Deal's vulgar comments on this posting board. What is apparent is poor urban planning overall. There weren't only 8 letters of opposition. Trust me, I reviewed the information provided to the STB and spoke with the head of the Environmental Impact Review Team. The opposition between NW Indiana and Illinois totalled 4000 (written and verbal comments) the most ever received. The truth is this ties back to the poor long term planning of our RR, highway, commercial and residential areas.(We haven't learned from the mistakes we and Europe made prior to the Industrial Revolution...just read the history books on what congestion did to communities in NYC, Boston, London, etc. 200 years ago. The issues are the same and our governmental leaders are afraid to draw a line in the sand because there is so much infrastructure that needs to be addressed.) Taxpayers should not be required to foot the bill for these crossings AT ALL. CN's proposal is clear...they aren't doing this to reduce congestion in Chicago...they plan to increase their overall business. Once they reroute traffic south of Chicago someone else (another RR) will backfill that empty spot...I challenged the CN official at the STB impact meetings on this and he refused to comment back...silence speaks volumes. Lastly, our electricity and natural gas line grids are similarly at a breaking point...but the ratepayers and taxpayers will NOT be responsible for footing the bill regarding this infrastructure, because the state regulators know that doing so would only increase profits for the Power Companies at the expense of individual citizens. Why is CN exempt from this same fair treatment? Because the federal laws were written before we even put natural gas lines and power grids in place. The laws were written when we were primarily an agrarian society with LOTS and LOTS of empty land to capitalize on....that is NO LONGER the CASE.

LOL, I love this "it will increase the traffic gridlock in our precious little hamlet!" posters, as if they woke up one day to find a brand new rail right-of-way through their town. Gee, I guess maybe you should have thought of that when you built your town around a PRE-EXISTING railway corridor and put grade-level crossings over a privately owned right-of-way.

Royer wrote:

LOL, I love this "it will increase the traffic gridlock in our precious little hamlet!" posters, as if they woke up one day to find a brand new rail right-of-way through their town. Gee, I guess maybe you should have thought of that when you built your town around a PRE-EXISTING railway corridor and put grade-level crossings over a privately owned right-of-way.

I'm from Chicago NOT Griffith...again, all of this impacts Chicago as well as NW Indiana and Illinois....and it won't improve things for Chicago...it will only make it worse.