Roselle rolls out new video series with episode about train merger

The village of Roselle has kicked off a new online video series with an episode about the Canadian Pacific's merger with Kansas City Southern.

Mayor David Pileski says the "Roselle Minute," posted on social media, will become a regular series to inform residents about what's happening in the village. The first episode is called "The One With the Trains."

Roselle has joined Bartlett, Bensenville, Elgin, Hanover Park, Itasca, Schaumburg and Wood Dale in raising concerns about the merger. The towns argue the increase in freight train traffic could cause disruptions, more train noise and even cut off parts of their communities for longer.

In his minute-long video posted last week, Pileski says the trains are vital. But because of the merger, he said, Roselle is expected to get up to eight freight trains per day. The village currently has three freight trains a day.

The video also talked about having quiet zones for the trains to reduce the noise in certain sections of Roselle.

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. purchased Kansas City Southern for $8.45 billion by selling investment-grade bonds in U.S. and Canadian dollars, finalizing the deal with an announcement on Dec. 14.

But the deal needs Surface Transportation Board approval, which will not happen until late 2022. If approved, integrating the railroad services would take an expected three years to complete.

Pileski said future "Roselle Minute" videos will be short and distill a lot of information for the average person to follow.

"The biggest part of it is balancing what we want to put out and needing the flexibility to address current issues," Pileski said. "We are working with a smaller budget and staff compared to other bigger villages and are working creatively with limited resources.

"It's a big step forward for us," he said, "and I'm proud of us for doing this relatively quickly."