Lake County railroad merger draws opposition from Visclosky

Both companies are involved in development plans in the area -- EJ&E with the runway extension at Gary/Chicago International Airport and Canadian National with the expansion of the South Shore rail line to Valparaiso and Lowell.

Visclosky has been a proponent of both development plans.

"These are the two major economic development projects in Northwest Indiana, and the track record so far of these two rail lines has not led to satisfactory progress on those projects," Visclosky spokesman Justin Kitsch said.

Visclosky plans to work with proponents of the two development projects and voice their opposition to the federal Surface Transportation Board, the regulatory body that must approve all railroad mergers and acquisitions, Kitsch said.

The federal board confirmed with Visclosky's office that Canadian National filed its application for acquisition of EJ&E on Tuesday.

The board will now review the application and schedule a period for public comment on the purchase.

John Parsons, spokesman for the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, which operates the South Shore, said NICTD has been waiting since April 27 for a response from Canadian National regarding a request to lease or purchase space on its right of way to construct the Valparaiso and Lowell rail spurs called for in their expansion plans.

Parsons said securing access to that right of way is critical to the expansion project, as there is no alternate route that tracks through communities in central Lake County.

"It's been very slow working with Canadian National on this," Parsons said. "It's getting corporate attention paid to the issue. They're a huge railroad, and getting their attention has been difficult."

Canadian National spokesman Jim Kvedaras said the 10-month delay was not a matter of corporate disinterest, but merely a case of lost paperwork.