Rail wrangle

For 38 years, Jim and Marilyn Griffin have had few complaints with the commercial railroad that passes by their house in the rural village of Wayne.

Sure, they hear a whistle blow from time to time, or get held up at a crossing. But for the most part, Marilyn Griffin says, the "sleepy little tracks" don't see many trains, "which is the way we want it."

Go some 30 miles northeast, and it's nearly opposite for Jeffrey Berman.

Berman, a Buffalo Grove village board member, said "20 or so" freights rumble through town most days on rails that brush within feet of a neighborhood school.

The congestion, he said, is one reason Metra can't offer more frequent commuter train service on a local line it shares with owner Canadian National Railway Co. -- "and we live with it every day."

Now, both the Griffins and Berman are eyeing the proposed sale of 198 miles of Northern Illinois and Northwestern Indiana railway that could drastically change the amount of rail traffic in their towns. And somebody, it seems, is bound to be disappointed.

"It feels like a takeover," said Griffin, 75, who stands to see as many as 27 trains a day if the sale gets federal approval. "It's all unimaginable, but we might not have to imagine for long."

In September, United States Steel Corp. announced the pending sale of its Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway to Canadian National for $300 million. Commonly known as the EJ&E, the line carries coal, steel and other goods from Waukegan in the north to as far south as Gary, Ind., dissecting some 30 suburbs along the way.

If the sale goes through, Canadian National says it will be able to cut costs and provide more efficient service by shifting traffic from existing lines between the EJ&E and Chicago, and onto the EJ&E itself. The company -- one of two major Canadian railroaders -- has committed to spend $100 million on six new rail connections and other improvements, proclaiming the sale "good news for Chicago railroading."

The move, transportation officials predict, would trigger significant decreases in train traffic on some existing Canadian National lines, such as the one in Buffalo Grove, while increasing traffic over the EJ&E and its communities, such as Wayne, with 15 to 27 trains a day.

As DuPage County Board member Pamela Rion understands it, the sale would be "absolutely devastating for all the communities along (the EJ&E), particularly West Chicago," which she refers to as "ground zero" because of its already bustling rail traffic.

Canadian National has said the potential effects are being blown out of proportion, and that it would consider putting up to $40 million additionally toward mitigation such as "quiet zones," sound walls and overpasses.

Whether the sale happens is up to the federal Surface Transportation Board. The three-member panel, which is appointed by the president, regulates mergers, acquisitions, construction and other matters related to the nation's railroad industry.

Canadian National spokesman Jim Kvedaras added that, overall, the shift would provide more direct routes for trains, resulting in fewer delays at road crossings and less exhaust emissions because trains would spend less time idling. "There's benefits to this transaction -- not just the community concerns," he said.

A final decision is expected after the board completes a large-scale study, looking at how the sale might affect air quality, noise, traffic, social economics and other environmental factors. There's no timeline for a decision, but similar studies have taken as long as a year to be resolved.

The panel recently completed one of several comment-gathering phases of the investigation, generating about 3,000 public responses -- one of the largest showings in memory, the board said.

Much of the fuss stems from a consortium of suburban mayors, forest preserve leaders and other public officials fighting the sale. So far, one of the most aggressive opponents has been the DuPage County Board, which recently went as far as to commit $10,000 toward hiring a lobbyist to help further the cause.

Momentum also has built with the support of several Illinois lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Reps. Bill Foster and Melissa Bean. They've taken steps such as writing letters to federal transportation officials on behalf of the coalition, and attending town hall meetings. The coalition also has launched a fierce ad campaign against the sale, buying full pages in several regional daily newspapers.

The opposition is "pretty much up and down the line," said Barrington Village President Karen Darch, who heads the consortium known as Barrington Coalition. "There also are towns off the line, like Wauconda and Island Lake, that will feel an impact because they use our roads."

But not everyone agrees the deal is such a bad thing, particularly trustee Berman in Buffalo Grove and officials in neighboring communities that he says have been less vocal about it.

And while supporters of the sale appear to be in the minority, Berman maintains the transaction "would inherently be an advantage to all of the communities south of the EJ&E," including Des Plaines, Wheeling and Mount Prospect. Cook County and the Riverside also are supporting the sale.

Berman, who serves as his town's liaison on transportation issues, said he figures it could only help Buffalo Grove's quest for fewer traffic jams and enhanced Metra service.

"There's certainly indications coming from Metra and (Rep.) Mark Kirk's office that the opportunity … is one that could potentially be filled by commuter service," he said. "In other words, once they get those freight trains off the line, Metra could step in and add service."

But it's tricky. While Berman said the village does not "wish anything negative upon our neighbors," he acknowledged the sale "presents a good opportunity for our community" and is one the village is backing. He added that he believes train traffic "isn't the inherent evil it's being painted as."

"It's not unreasonable to think, if you buy a house next to a railroad, that someday trains might be passing you by," he said. "Nobody likes to be the one to say, 'Ha ha, I win, you lose.' On the other hand, I've never heard anybody over the years say, 'Oh, god. Those poor folks in Buffalo Grove have to deal with 20 trains a day.' "

The Barrington Coalition is quick to point out, though, that Canadian National "won't guarantee" the tracks will not be sold again or see traffic changes in the future.

Federal regulations require railroad companies involved in a merger or sale to predict how traffic patterns will change only three years out, the industry standard, Kvedaras said, declining to speculate further. "The only user we know out there that would have any interest (in re-using Canadian National tracks) is Metra," he said.

For their part, Metra officials on Friday outlined some concerns of their own about the sale. They include delays for commuter trains that cross Ej&E tracks and potential impact on the planned STAR Line project linking the Northwest and West suburbs.

Kvedaras said the two were still in the midst of "confidential negotiations" on issues related to the STAR Line and use of the EJ&E.

Elsewhere, the situation is largely a waiting game -- one suburban homeowners such as the Griffins in Wayne are using to rally forces by writing to legislators, talking to neighbors and collaborating with village leaders to keep their "sleepy little tracks" from being woken up.

"It seems for us and people like us, this cannot have anything but a catastrophic effect on home values," said Jim Griffin, a retired Fermilab physicist. "We expected to sell this house and property for the benefit of our children. Now, I suspect we're going to lose."