A train heads south Wednesday near the intersection of Main Street and Wood Street in Griffith. The number of trains on EJ&E tracks in Griffith and several other local communities would triple under CN Railway's plan to purchase a smaller railroad. NATALIE BATTAGLIA | THE TIMES
Three times as many trains will be running on EJ&E tracks through Dyer, Schererville, Griffith, Gary and Lynwood under Canadian National Railway's plans to purchase the smaller railroad.
That is raising concerns in the towns, where motorists often see their commutes stymied by long trains creeping across at-grade crossings.
"When you come up or down Hart Street and run into one of those trains now, they are so long, it locks us right up," Dyer Town Manager Joe Neeb said.
The number of trains crossing Sheffield Avenue at the heart of town would go from about 10 a day now to 34 within a few years, according to the application CN filed Wednesday with the federal Surface Transportation Board.
Carloads of hazardous waste shipped on that route would go from about 45 per year to 436.
CN officials will be talking with all communities that would be affected by a shift in rail traffic, according to CN spokesman Jim Kvedaras.
The railroad will not increase the total volume of hazardous materials it ships, it just will shift some of it to other tracks, Kvedaras said.
"Safety in moving hazardous materials is first and foremost in this industry," Kvedaras said. "And this reroute will not change that focus.'
Some towns, notably Munster and Lansing, would see far fewer trains on the CN mainline that runs from Griffith and into Chicago.
The 20 CN trains daily that cross main roads like Calumet Avenue, in Munster, and Torrence Avenue, in Lansing, would drop to about seven daily.
"For motorists, they would certainly be happy," said Lansing Village President Dan Podgorski. "I don't think anyone will be complaining because the number of trains is decreasing."
Many of the trains using the EJ&E line in Northwest Indiana will be making their way to Gary's Kirk Yard. More than 2,000 freight cars a day will come into Kirk Yard, where they will be separated and hitched to other trains.
That would make it one of the two busiest CN hubs in the United States. Some repair work also will be shifted from CN's East Joliet Yard to Kirk Yard.
Town officials and others will have the chance to comment on CN's application during a public comment period soon to be set by the Surface Transportation Board.
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., said he would oppose CN's purchase of the EJ&E because of the "track record" of both railroads in holding up important public projects. Visclosky wants more railroad cooperation in moving tracks to make way for the Gary/Chicago International Airport expansion and providing rights of way for the South Shore West Lake extension.
On Wednesday, NIRPC Executive Director John Swanson said the projected decrease in traffic on the main CN route might bode well for coming to some agreement over a shared right of way for the South Shore.
CN struck an agreement in late September to buy most of the EJ&E's assets from U.S. Steel Corp. for $300 million, including the entire loop around Chicago. It would rename the railroad the EJ&EW.
CN is touting the plan's benefits for Chicago, which would see less rail congestion and less pollution from trains and trucks.
"The EJ&EW transaction would promote the public interest in a more efficient and reliable rail transportation system and would have no adverse competitive or safety effects," CN Chief Executive Officer E. Hunter Harrison stated in Wednesday's filing.
Air quality will be another concern of local officials in Northwest Indiana, which is on a federal watch list for a number of pollutants. NIRPC will be examining whether the shift in rail traffic will affect overall air quality, Swanson said.
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