Federal report IDs problematic EJ&E rail crossings

BY KEITH BENMAN, Times of Northwest Indiana
kbenman@nwitimes.com

Federal regulators Friday issued a draft environmental impact statement on Canadian National Railway's plan to buy the EJ&E Railway and gave the public two months to comment.

The voluminous document deals with a wide range of issues, including vehicle safety at 112 rail crossings, Gary/Chicago International Airport and even the survival of the Karner blue butterfly.

The Surface Transportation Board scheduled eight public hearings on the draft environmental statement, but only one in Northwest Indiana.

The shortness of the comment period and the hosting of only one hearing in Northwest Indiana drew the ire of U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind.

"In the 11th hour of the Bush Administration, his appointees on the STB have put Canadian National ahead of the interests of millions of Americans," Visclosky said.

Montreal-based Canadian National had the opposite opinion, saying it was pleased with the 60-day comment period.

In a prepared release, the railroad said the facts set forth in the draft environmental impact statement "conform to our view that the environmental issues raised in this proceeding are not unusual and can be reasonably mitigated."

The Surface Transportation Board did not grant the railroad's request for expedited treatment for its planned purchase of the EJ&E.

However, Visclosky noted the comment period was only 15 more days than the minimum required by law.

"Restricting the public comment period on it to 60 days denies the people of Northwest Indiana a reasonable opportunity to fully consider its contents and weigh in on it," Visclosky said.

In September, Canadian National announced it had a $300 million agreement to purchase the EJ&E, which runs 198 miles from Waukegan, Ill., north of Chicago, to Gary.

Canadian National would reroute most of its freight trains that run into Chicago onto the EJ&E tracks. Those tracks run through suburban communities outside Chicago and in Northwest Indiana.

The rerouting of CN trains would result in rail traffic doubling and in some cases tripling on stretches of the EJ&E that run through suburban communities, including Griffith, Schererville, Dyer and Lynwood.

Mitigation measures called for in the draft environmental impact statement appear to fall far short of what communities have been demanding.

Only 15 of 112 crossing were determined to be "substantially affected."

They will need mitigation measures that could be as simple as the installation of warning signals or as complex and expensive as constructing highway overpasses, according to the draft environmental impact statement.

The document also calls for Canadian National to abide by a preliminary memorandum of understanding with Gary/Chicago International Airport on moving EJ&E tracks to make way for runway expansion.