Gridlock, noise are part of railway plan
Residents of the village of Lake Zurich and other surrounding communities may not be aware that a very serious threat to our communities is barreling down the railroad tracks that cut through our communities.
The Elgin, Joliet & Eastern rail line that cuts through our Lake Zurich downtown district (as well as Barrington and other suburbs) is for sale and the planned buyer is the Canadian National Railway. The stated plan by CN is to expect the EJ&E line to swell from three-five trains a day to 25-30 per day! This could bring a train through our towns on average of every 48 minutes, around the clock.
This planned sale puts at risk every thing about our way of life -- slower emergency response, greater danger to our children and their school buses, more noise and air pollution and a decrease in the value of our homes. Oh, and our existing roadway gridlock will become exponentially worse, as CN has no plans to add overpasses or any enhanced safety measures.
Incidentally, many of these 10,000-foot trains also carry hazardous cargo directly through our communities.
This is a classic loser deal that will forever change the quality of life in our communities, with no upside. CN does not contribute a penny to our communities, yet their "enhanced service" increases their corporate profits completely at our expense.
This entire sale is driven by a regional problem for northern Illinois and the railroads. The railroads have a bottleneck in Chicago with freight transfer feeding the rest of the United States. The proper solution to this crisis is to create a Northern Illinois regional plan that addresses current and future rail needs and puts in place properly implemented rail infrastructure to responsibly meet these challenges.
The deadline to tell our government why we are vehemently opposed to this plan is today. Visit fightrail congestion.com to find out how your opinions can be presented to our leaders.
This singular decision to allow CN to proceed will irreversibly and permanently diminish the quality of life for millions of people that live near (and interface daily) with the EJ&E. Putting the interests of a single foreign conglomerate ahead of the massive local opposition to this plan defies everything that a democratic society should represent.
Brian Hart
Lake Zurich