Lake County opposes railway merger expected to add more freight trains on commuter line
Lake County has joined other Chicago-area entities against the proposed acquisition of the Kansas City Southern Railway Co. by Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.
In a resolution approved last week, the Lake County Board asks the federal Surface Transportation Board to deny the merger as currently proposed and asks that several conditions be included for any potential approval.
Among those are transferring dispatch rights to Metra, the commuter rail agency, as well as appropriate measures to protect "the health, safety and economic well-being" of Lake County businesses and residents.
A projected 380% increase in freight traffic on rail lines owned by Metra will create safety concerns for communities, worsen the condition of existing infrastructure and could create "unsafe and unfavorable" conditions for residents and businesses, according to the resolution approved by the Lake County Board.
Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern filed the merger application with the Surface Transportation Board on Oct. 29. Shareholders of both companies approved Canadian Pacific's acquisition of Kansas City Southern for $31 billion.
Federal regulators are reviewing the deal before deciding whether to give it final approval. The line would create the first single-line rail network linking the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The Coalition to Stop CPKC, comprising eight communities along the Milwaukee West Line, on March 1 filed a request with the Surface Transportation Board to block the deal. Bartlett, Bensenville, Elgin, Itasca, Hanover Park, Roselle, Wood Dale and Schaumburg said the merger would alter life in their towns.
The Lake County resolution mirrors Metra's comments to federal authorities on March 15 asking that the merger application be denied. Approval would undermine the safety and reliability of commuter service, Metra contends.
Trains in the merged operation would run on Metra's Milwaukee District West Line to Elgin and Milwaukee District North Line through Lake County.
Canadian Pacific operates on the Metra-owned Milwaukee District North Line and dispatches freight and commuter trains under a 99-year agreement made more than 40 years ago when a division of the RTA that later became Metra took over the line. Metra wants the dispatch rights to control the allocation of track capacity on lines it owns.
"That is the key issue, folks," Norm Carlson, Lake County's representative on the Metra board, told county officials.
Metra contends the increased freight traffic will create new and disruptive delays to commuter rail schedules, exacerbate safety issues for commuters and further burden the rail infrastructure that didn't anticipate the length and weight of trains Canadian Pacific currently runs.
Lake County asks that impacts and measures to address them should be required for at least 10 years as a condition of approval. Those should include infrastructure upgrades, corridor quiet zones, noise walls, grade separation and pedestrian overpasses or underpasses.