Passing marks for CN, but work needed

So far, so good for The Canadian National Railway. But, as the first audit of its work with skeptical suburbs along the EJ&E railroad tracks shows, improvement still is needed.

The U.S. Surface Transportation Board hired consultants to survey its communication with the 34 towns that are affected by CN moving freight trains onto the EJ&E tracks from crowded tracks elsewhere in the region.

To CN's credit, the audit concludes that CN "has initiated extensive communication with the affected communities." And in most instances, that communication has been "consistent" with the transportation board's conditions when it approved the $300 million purchase of EJ&E in late 2008.

This is good news, considering a year ago CN had been taking steps to bypass some of the mitigation requirements the board approved. At that time, we questioned their commitment to being a good partner in the region and urged them to work harder to mitigate the concerns of the affected communities.

As noted, however, CN, after a year operating on the EJ&E tracks, still has work to do.

For example, CN has discussed emergency response plans with many communities, but it has not yet provided actual written copies to all. It also was criticized for not cooperating with one community on the creation of quiet zones. And the consultants recommended CN provide more information to show how it was notifying emergency service dispatchers when crossings will be blocked for substantial periods of time and installing dispatching monitors when requested.

CN has signed mitigation agreements with 21 towns along the EJ&E in which it pays for noise control and safety concerns. Thirteen communities have not signed such an agreement. Many of those towns are still battling CN in court.

Towns leading that fight - such as Aurora and Barrington - contend train traffic in the first year was artificially low because CN is still improving the old railroad to handle extra capacity and because the recession led to a downturn in freight shipments.

"We haven't reached the full range of the negative impact," said Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner in a story by Daily Herald transportation writer Marni Pyke earlier this year. "We're in the midst of an artificial situation."

If true, then CN still has much work to do to appease the concerns of suburban officials and residents along the tracks. But we are pleased that the first independent audit shows progress and positive results. We are disappointed, however, that 13 of the 34 communities surveyed did not respond. Given the controversial nature of the merger and the high interest throughout the region, we would expect all communities to give their feedback so that the transportation board can make solid judgments on progress and hold CN accountable when needed.