Money for overpasses is lacking if Canadian National Railway bu...

JLK wrote:

If King Ritchie doesn't want trains going through Chicago then he should pony up instead of always expecting the suburbs to pay - aren't we doing enough paying for Chicago public schools and the CTA?

Exactly! Divert a little of that state money to use for the overpasses! Suburban money to things that these suburbs need,(overpasses) instead of sending it to the CTA.

railham wrote:

<quoted text>
Well stated Dave. There are HUNDREDS of communities in the Chicago region and elsewhere in the country that are shouldering over ONE HUNDRED trains per day and do so without grade seperations, and you don't hear them whining to the news media about being delayed. And this whole thing concerns 25-30 trains per day at the most, or a little more than ONE PER HOUR! I guess that they must realize that our rail carriers preform a vital service for us by carrying the heaviest cargo that would otherwise end up on the highway system, further clogging up the roads.
It has to be something in the water in the area around Barrington that brings out the obnoxious, unreasonable rantings that I have had the misfortune to read on these blogs.

When you compare a place like Hinsdale with a place Barrington, you start to realize how empty the complaints about property vales are as well.

Bill-Elgin wrote:

<quoted text>Exactly! Divert a little of that state money to use for the overpasses! Suburban money to things that these suburbs need,(overpasses) instead of sending it to the CTA.

That's just nonsense. Taking money from a crowded mass transit system to fritter it away on something that isn't even needed is just plain stupid.

Steal Rails wrote:

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Dave, he was quoted in another paper as follows:
"Thousands of people in towns that abut the existing CN lines stand to benefit from reductions in rail and highway congestion, a decrease in train noise and relative improvements to safety," he said. "It would also set the stage for possible enhancements to Metra service."
Translation, move the freight trains elsewhere and provide us with more METRA service in BG. Boye, he's got a lot of nerve. BG will put up with METRA train congestion, but they want to shed all the freight traffic. Nice.

Reading is a skill that can be mastered if you invest the time.

Reductions and decreases are not the same thing as eliminating.

The EJ&E rail line is an asset the entire area needs to see utilized.

The UP and Metra run many, many times the trains through downtown Wheaton without problems. The CN deal will reduce truck traffic in the area. Give Barrington NOTHING. If they want their luxery overpasses that really are not needed, let them pay for it 100%.

Bill-Elgin wrote:

<quoted text>Exactly! Divert a little of that state money to use for the overpasses! Suburban money to things that these suburbs need,(overpasses) instead of sending it to the CTA.

Suburban money to things suburbs NEED,(SCHOOLS AND ROAD REPAIRS), not one penny to the Barrinton overpasses which are NOT needed.

Roskam is my US rep and I am going to tell him let the CN run their trains, and to not spend taxpayer money on anything that is not needed, like Barrington overpasses. He lives in Wheaton and his office is in Wheaton, he knows the sky is not going to fall. Barrington NIMBY=Chicken little.

We could use the money to upgrade in Glen Ellyn. Barrington should wait in line.

Will the CN re-routing reduce train traffic at North ave. and Addison Rd.?

Pete wrote:

Roskam is my US rep and I am going to tell him let the CN run their trains, and to not spend taxpayer money on anything that is not needed, like Barrington overpasses. He lives in Wheaton and his office is in Wheaton, he knows the sky is not going to fall. Barrington NIMBY=Chicken little.

There are separate funds already approved for highway safety improvements. If we don't apply for the money, it gets spent anyway in some other state. We pay the taxes anyway weather it is spent here or elsewhere. Also building the overpasses would help the local construction companies and workers.

Bill-Elgin wrote:

<quoted text>There are separate funds already approved for highway safety improvements. If we don't apply for the money, it gets spent anyway in some other state. We pay the taxes anyway weather it is spent here or elsewhere. Also building the overpasses would help the local construction companies and workers.

OK. If we buy your pork spending argument, there are still, many, many other communities with much busier crossings than what the whiners along the EJ&E will ever see.

Why can't we use the rail system for commuter trains from Barrington to Aurora ? There is virtually no public transportation serving this route.

joan wrote:

Why can't we use the rail system for commuter trains from Barrington to Aurora ? There is virtually no public transportation serving this route.

The studies and talks METRA did with the EJ&E said that they would need to build a second main-line track within the EJ&E Right-Of-Way (ROW). http://metraconnects.metrarail.com/news.php... This is because the volume of freight traffic was currently to heavy to allow commuter traffic to share the single track mainline. It also said that the EJ&E ROW was wide enough to allow the addition of a line. But it did identify other problems, i.e. freight costumers who would be on the other side of the new commuter (METRA) tracks. According to the documents the EJ&E did not want to share its single line freight tracks with a commuter line, but was open to allowing METRA to build on their ROW. It still could be done with CN running the EJ&E. They have said that they will talk with METRA about this as well. Actually, if METRA built their own track this would be much more beneficial to them because then they would control all the traffic on that track, just like they do with the Electric line which is built within CN's Chicago subdivision ROW. All that it is going to take is for the politicians to fund the STAR Line project,(good luck on that one).
One thing to remember; passenger trains don't pay for themselves, they lose money. All of the passenger systems I have heard of are subsidized, either by the freight revenues or by taxes. That includes the great European rail system.

Those who have chosen to live in an area with excessive, existing, freight or air traffic, have done so with the prior knowledge that these conditions exist. The communities that would be harmed by increased CN freight in Illinois did not build schools, homes, hospitals, and fire stations on wheels so they could be moved when needed.

I suggest you visit the areas in question before you form an opinion.

It wouldn't be fair if I proposed that Detroit be sold to the Chinese for scrap without considering the effects on the residents of Detroit first.

railham wrote:

<quoted text>
Well stated Dave. There are HUNDREDS of communities in the Chicago region and elsewhere in the country that are shouldering over ONE HUNDRED trains per day and do so without grade seperations, and you don't hear them whining to the news media about being delayed. And this whole thing concerns 25-30 trains per day at the most, or a little more than ONE PER HOUR! I guess that they must realize that our rail carriers preform a vital service for us by carrying the heaviest cargo that would otherwise end up on the highway system, further clogging up the roads.
It has to be something in the water in the area around Barrington that brings out the obnoxious, unreasonable rantings that I have had the misfortune to read on these blogs.

geddy lee wrote:

Those who have chosen to live in an area with excessive, existing, freight or air traffic, have done so with the prior knowledge that these conditions exist. The communities that would be harmed by increased CN freight in Illinois did not build schools, homes, hospitals, and fire stations on wheels so they could be moved when needed.
I suggest you visit the areas in question before you form an opinion.
It wouldn't be fair if I proposed that Detroit be sold to the Chinese for scrap without considering the effects on the residents of Detroit first.
<quoted text>

You don't own Detroit, nor do you own the EJ&E, yet you are saying that the owners of the EJ&E should not be able to use their property for what it was made and meant to be used. So in a very real sense your argument really turns back on itself.
I am familiar with the area. I grew up in Northern Illinois and Illinois was my home for almost 40 years.
A few years ago many people complained about the increase in air traffic at Midway airport because they bought their homes near there when the airport was under utilized (after O'Hare was built). Yet they had bought their homes near an open and active airport. By the same token the EJ&E has been under utilized for about 30 years, but it was still always there, open and active. What is the difference?

Not a railroader wrote:

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You don't own Detroit, nor do you own the EJ&E, yet you are saying that the owners of the EJ&E should not be able to use their property for what it was made and meant to be used. So in a very real sense your argument really turns back on itself.
I am familiar with the area. I grew up in Northern Illinois and Illinois was my home for almost 40 years.
A few years ago many people complained about the increase in air traffic at Midway airport because they bought their homes near there when the airport was under utilized (after O'Hare was built). Yet they had bought their homes near an open and active airport. By the same token the EJ&E has been under utilized for about 30 years, but it was still always there, open and active. What is the difference?

My right to move my fist in the air ends at your face.

The right to move freight ends when it harms the health and safety of a human being.

Argument over.

Go lobby for more nicotine in cigarettes.

geddy lee wrote:

It wouldn't be fair if I proposed that Detroit be sold to the Chinese for scrap without considering the effects on the residents of Detroit first.
<quoted text>

At this point, they would probably take you up on the offer!

geddy lee wrote:

<quoted text>
The right to move freight ends when it harms the health and safety of a human being.

Using your logic we should not be allowed to move any freight (by any means) anywhere in the country because there is always some level of risk of accident. Or is it only unacceptable to move freight in your area?
One very interesting finding in the STB draft EIS is that traffic problems already exist in many of the communities that the EJ&E runs through. That will not change even if the purchase is disapproved. The politicians are trying to force CN to pay to correct the problems that they should have addressed and corrected already (in some cases many years ago). They trust people's short memories forget that these are not all new problems.

Not a railroader wrote:

<quoted text>
Using your logic we should not be allowed to move any freight (by any means) anywhere in the country because there is always some level of risk of accident. Or is it only unacceptable to move freight in your area?
One very interesting finding in the STB draft EIS is that traffic problems already exist in many of the communities that the EJ&E runs through. That will not change even if the purchase is disapproved. The politicians are trying to force CN to pay to correct the problems that they should have addressed and corrected already (in some cases many years ago). They trust people's short memories forget that these are not all new problems.

Barrington and many of the suburbs on this rail line were built out in the 1970's. There are no new subdivisions near the Rt 59, Hwy 14, or Lake Cook Rd rail crossings. Barrington Hills is 5 acre minimum density and South Barrington where building does continue is 5 miles south of the tracks and contiguous to a major Interstate. There are only tear downs and small in fill projects being built near the EJ and E.

People want to live near commuter rail in these communities to save fuel and walk to local businesses. Now the massive influx of CN freight threatens this positive environmental trend by handicapping commuter rail and destroying property values near the tracks.

So the solution to remedy an open cut on your hand is to rub dirt in it on a frequent basis?

geddy lee wrote:

<quoted text>
My right to move my fist in the air ends at your face.
The right to move freight ends when it harms the health and safety of a human being.
Argument over.
Go lobby for more nicotine in cigarettes.

I need a translation. That made no sense whatsoever.