Train traffic to increase slowly
The signs are up but motorists shouldn't worry just yet about increased train traffic on some rail crossings in Mundelein and other areas, village and railroad officials say.
"Are they going to be inundated with them overnight? The answer is no, that can't happen," says Jim Kvedaras, spokesman for the Canadian National Railway Co.
The company's recently approved purchase of the lesser-used Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Co., allows it to begin rerouting trains from tracks shared with commuter lines to the EJ&E as of March 4.
How many and how soon are some of the details Mundelein officials plan to discuss with the railroad next week. Increased traffic on that line is of particular concern in the Mundelein area, which has several EJ&E crossings, including Allanson Road and Route 60/83.
"I don't think train traffic is going to increase noticeably for awhile," said Mike Flynn, assistant village manager in Mundelein. "They might begin a couple of trains a day to start with but there's a lot of scheduling to take care of and they have to retrain their crews."
The EJ&E runs in an arc from Waukegan to Gary, Ind. Initial changes will not affect areas east of Mundelein, however.
Significant work is needed to broaden a curve at what is know as the Leithton interlocking, just west of Butterfield Road where there is a junction between the CN and EJ&E.
"Initially, there's only a limited number of trains we can physically reroute," Kvedaras said.
Trains can only take the curve at 5 mph, according to Flynn, and the slow speed translates to delays at crossings. The railroad has pledged to soften the curve within two years so trains can travel through at 30 mph.
"They can't really put very much (freight) traffic on that line (EJ&E) until they improve the curve that joins the lines," Flynn said. "Plus, they have a lot of other track work, sidings and double tracking before they bring the lines in full."
Railroad officials have said that up to 24 more trains per day could be using the line within three years.
Mundelein is one of several communities along the route that entered into special agreements with Canadian National before the acquisition.
The agreement, posted on the village Web site mundelein.org, calls for a financial contribution from the railroad to deal with several issues. Among them are Leithton curve, barriers to maintain quiet zones, a grade separation at Route 60/83, bypass road in the Tower Road industrial park and other measures.
The railroad will provide $100,000 for privacy fencing or berms at Hickory Street west of Route 45, for example, and $50,000 for noise mitigation at West Oak Middle School, which is adjacent to the tracks.
A special protocol for communication between the railroad and the village regarding blocked crossings and $400,000 for emergency response equipment also was part of the agreement.
"We realized that if you're going to get any concessions, you're going to have to talk to them about it: 'How are you going to mitigate the impacts to our community?'" Flynn said.