Editorial: CN merger beneficial, but keep working to help Barrington

There's no doubt Canadian National has, overall, been a positive presence in Chicago and the suburbs. Since buying the EJ&E line for $300 million in 2008 the railroad has spent another $400 million on improving its system in northeastern Illinois and in nearby Indiana; rail freight business has grown significantly and jobs - good-paying ones - have been created.

As CN CEO Claude Mongeau told the Daily Herald editorial board this week, not only has CN met its business objectives for the first six years of the CN/EJ&E merger, the overall impact has generally been good for the entire region. By moving freight on the 158-mile "ring" of track around the Chicago area instead of sending all its trains into the heart of Chicago and inner suburbs, CN is helping "decongest" rail traffic in the densest part of the region.

But with all the good news, some issues remain unresolved. There is debate about the number of crossing delays lasting more that 10 minutes along the EJ&E route, even as CN's data shows that a lot of those delays occur at night, or over private roads where the trains are switching customers.

And while we're not convinced the answer lies in extending the monitoring period for two more years, as the Surface Transportation Board did last month, the effects of this important merger are so potentially long-lasting that the extended review is at least understandable. The impacts being felt are still developing.

Case in point is Barrington, which in November filed a new petition with the STB, asking that CN be compelled to contribute $47 million to the Route 14 underpass the village building under the EJ&E. The village says the increased number of trains - from about six a day to an average of 20 - already blocks too much auto traffic downtown.

But their main concern is the increased train traffic yet to come - when more crude oil moves by rail down from Canada through Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico; and more Chinese container units from British Columbia make the same journey.

Whether CN should pay for all the effects of that traffic in one town is a reasonable question, especially when train-related backups existed at some level before CN arrived. On the other hand, Barrington is among the communities affected most by the increase of train traffic, so it's also reasonable to ask whether one town should shoulder so much of the burden of change.

The ultimate answer is not clear-cut, but the STB has awarded money to Aurora and Lynwood to help them build overpasses directly related to increases in EJ&E traffic. It did not provide similar relief to Barrington. Mongeau repeatedly emphasized that all CN seeks from the agency is a fair hearing on its activities, based on the facts. After going to some additional length and expense to try to ease its difficulties, Barrington surely has earned a fair and thorough review of its own.