Fight Rail Congestion VS. Canadian National

[bum291]

Learn CPR, that will add time to the life of the patient, anyone who made the call should also learn to do that. If you don't want to learn CPR, build and underpass or pay for an ambulance at the other side of the station.

Also, 3-4 minutes is the time in which a fire engulfs a room, unless you leave all the doors open and pour fuel all over the floor. So, yes... It MAY engulf a home in 3-4 minutes.

[ATSF1927]

Talk to your cheep Politicians and get an overpass installed, problem solved. If trains come to a stop you go hungry. Stop betting up the Railroads beat up your policial figures.

[PattiSande]

Moving trains are not the issue. It is when the train sits on the track at a stand still for 20 - 30 minutes at a time. We have all experienced this in Bartlett, IL. This happens on a regular basis. Not only is it very frustrating to sit for a NON MOVING TRAIN, but God Forbid there was an emergency. Kiss you ASS GOOD-BYE!!! 

[CintiRailFan]

Go to 1:50 to skip all the bullshit and check out those beautiful orange SD units!!!

[CintiRailFan]

Hows all those new trains treating you?! LOL!! I hope you hear the " Shave and a Haircut" all day long!! Keep them long trains rolling baby!!!

[SuproElectric]

i'd think that there would be more deaths from people who try/stupid enough to beat the train across the tracks than this.. wouldn't there be emergency vehicles called from elsewhere if this video were the case?

[o00o00ozy]

This was the most POINTLESS video I have ever seen...

[shicoe30]

What the hell do you want the train to do? See the emergency vehicles and slam on the emergency brakes? (Cause then he'd have to block the intersection while waiting for the air to build back up) Did you want him to stop and back up? That's just dumb. That's ain't happenin. Trains have the right of way. They're what keep this country together. Thank America's railroads for shipping the parts for those vehicles and the medicine and emergency equipment that those EMT's are bringing to the call.

[coborn35]

Dumbest video ever. Learn your facts.

[Shirehorse148]

The real problem isn't the trains, it's the dispatchers that don't have a plan to route vehicles running code around active crossings. This is emergency preparedness 101 people...

[DeadGoldBass]

Long freight is cost less for CN, But sometimes it maybe deadful, But theses situations are really rare and THAT is the REALITY.

If you're not happy, Put an underground pass ?

[Drewster327]

This is retarded, god forbid we move our FINALLY GROWING ECONOMY back by moving more trains, more trains = more supplies, including medical supplies, things to create medical supplies. Get a life, and cry a river.

[K5H13760]

Why do you suppose they elevated all of the tracks going through Elmira, New York? They do not have these problems anymore, and they did it back in the 30's. I'd say get after your politicians, make em' elevate the tracks all the way through town.

[rockisland57]

THis is reality. Your an idiot. In the case of a fire where a fire truck would be blocked,guess what? More fire trucks woul be called from other stations! Same with EMS and Police. I have been on many Fire and EMS runs and I am a locomotive engineer. Here is reality. People in their cars not getting out of the way is more of a problem than trains.

[rhiwooten89]

this is a bull shit video.. the ones on the train where doing thier job... they had no way of knowin that the emergency vehicles would be coming by..

[ICHOGR]

I love to wave and smile going through crossings on my 8000+Ft train on the former EJ&E, not to mention blowing the horn long and loud!!

It's not the CN's fault you built your house next to the tracks or that you chose to live in a town with a RR running through the middle of it. Just deal with it, leave earlier to get to work and relax as you watch my train go by.

ICHOGR, CN Locomotive Engineer

[britfrenir]

Barrington managed to keep passenger trains from the EJ and E tracks from running betwen Sears in Hoffman Estates and Wauckean and but they and people from other towns were unable to stop CN though.

[britfrenir]

@britfrenir Sorry, I mispelled Waukegan.

[skullcrusher301]

HEY! those people on the trains are just doing their job LEAVE THEM ALONE!!!

[MilwaukeeF40C]

A natural risk of owning land is that outside influences may affect the value of your land or your desired quality of life. That doesn't mean you are entitled to determine what others may do with their private property if it is not causing direct property damage or bodily harm. To argue so follows the dangerous path of positive rights, in other words entitlements- forcing others to provide you with something at their expense. The railroad has a valid claim to the use of its right of way.

[ifiuwin]

The CN plan to ship ethanol via the "J" is a ticking time bomb against the sole source of our well water. The hygroscopic characteristic of a Ethanol spill will bond to the water permanently. The Des Plaines river supplies many towns as well as those downstream. A CN spill from their bridge would cause permanent damage. Homeland Security has dictated that Haz Mat may not go thru a metro Chicago

Chicago. The recent ethanol spill by CN in Rockford killed a mother & water.

and child due CN's

[MilwaukeeF40C]

If CN operations end up physically damaging private property, they should be held accountable on a case-by-case basis. But it is not logical to impose blanket restrictions on them, that is what I call paternalism.

Ethanol, by the way, is completely uneconomical to produce without subsidies. It only exists because it is a way for certain politicians to distribute corporate welfare to connected industries at taxpayer expense. It is part of the reason gasoline is more expensive than it should be.

[ifiuwin]

The fact is CN did not buy the "J" but rather the Grand Trunk Corp which is a shell company designed to give other carriers including CN the right to use their trackage. Check the assets of CN vs GTC and you find that GTC has a firewall that prohibits CN from being held liable with their deeper pockets. For a community that has lost their city water supply due to CN's error will not be compensated.

The transfer of the Ethanol to tankers on their ROW is also

covered by GTC. Drill and Nuc Power

[ifiuwin]

The Grand Trunk Corporation is the subsidiary holding company for the Canadian National Railway's properties in the United States. The firewall between the track owner and the operator CN sole purpose is to avoid any CN liability. GTC has very limited assets vs CN. GTC can lease to any other Class 1 carriers. The Chicago fire department

has invested in equipment and training for Haz Mat the small community fire departments along the "J" are not trained do they have equipment or personal.

[Nathanrailfan]

I don't care if people rip CN a new asshole, but never and I mean NEVER put down the EJ&E. Like I said before, you have to love how anti-train people make a situation more worst than it really is.

[admydragon]

Wow thanks CN for the manslaughter. We really appreciate it.

Twats...

[Sylderon]

Takes one to know one...

[Jabbajawz4life]

Livin here in chicago I see that alot!

[yangj08]

Dear lord, how slow WAS that? Electrify the tracks and bring in some EF210 locomotives, they'll be gone in a minute. I can't believe America has what is essentially a third-world rail network. Even CHINA's better.

[iais502]

The EJ&E is a privately owned railroad. Therefore, they have to mostly operate by the laws of supply and demand. The amount of trains on this line (7 freight trains/day) obviously doesn't justify the company investing in a high-speed electrified corridor.

[lone56wolf]

Build a bridge

[npx190]

Momentarilly it seems like these trains are running short handed, I do not mean short by length of cars, but I have made round trips 20 miles past on each side crossing the debated tracks, and have not got stopped by a CN yet

Has anyone ran into any thing themselves?

[qnuts]

CN has been running a strict schedule on their trains that run over the J so it has limited impact on these communities. What these people dont understand and have been spoiled for the last 20-30 years with is very little traffic on the J, it use to be double tracked through this area with more than 50 trains a day on this line.

Barrington especially should quit their bitching and live with like so many have had to in towns like Elmhurst (90+/day) and Des Plaines (100+/day)

[ifiuwin]

What you do not reveal is the US Steel during WW2 needed to ship war material via Ruppert. This was the only short period of time that the double tracks were utilized. This was a WAR dictated need for the USA. For you to claim that China and Canada economic advantage trumps the USA citizens is like offering a terrorist our constitutional rights. Only 10% of the CN freight has a destination near or in Chicago. By the way the Panama Canal is expanding to handle all Post Panamax Ships.

[MilwaukeeF40C]

It doesn't really matter whether the second main track had anything to do with war demand. If there is sufficient demand for more track capacity, the railroad ought to be able to construct and utilize it, no matter where the demand is coming from. The nature of railroad traffic is that it is point to point, it must travel through somewhere to get where it is going.

[MilwaukeeF40C]

Also, if goods can be produced more economically in other countries, it frees up domestic workers and production assets which can then be put to more productive uses.

[ifiuwin]

CN and Pr. Ruppert are double counting the forecasted China

traffic. The rule in supply chain is better, cheaper, faster. IF

a post panamax ship can reach the distribution centers in the SE US via a single mode they will due to the economics. 50% of the "J" traffic to the SE USA will likely move by water. The 40% of the CN forecast actually ends up along the East Coast of S. America and clearly would be routed via the Pan. Canal. The 10% of the traffic for Chicago will go to Franklin Pk.

[rvines2]

The video is designed to make a point. No we do not want 20 trains a day as opposed to 5. Would you?

The STB approval process was a joke. Really a rubber stamp. What little the STB required of CN in their approval, CN is already fighting. The local communities and the state will end up picking up the tab for mitigation.

Obviously this is a NIMBY for us, but isn't everything?

Everyone understands that we need oil refineries right? ok, can we build one next to your house?

[Sylderon]

This railroad was built almost a hundred years ago. This shouldn't be a surprise to anybody, considering that it was part of the CREATE plan in 2005, and has been a stated objective of various railroads for decades.

As far as the problem of stations...you could be like my hometown of Downers Grove, which sees up to 70 trains a day, and have multiple fire stations, rather than just bitch about it.

[rvines2]

What is the CREATE plan?

[1980sman]

Really makes you think if this merger will be a good idea. Thank you for sharing this video. I thought it was very well done, whether it was staged or not. It certainly makes a point.

[hailster17]

Reality: Your city sucks at planning.

If the tracks were really a big concern they would have emergency response vehicles on both sides of the tracks.

As far as this groups concern about pollution, trucking pollutes more than the rail industry. Look it up and get your facts.

[DocLaw172]

And one final thing. The train is passed. The cop just sits there. He could go around the gate, but the car just sits there. Why?

Fake, fake, fake!!!

[DocLaw172]

You know, it also looks staged because the fire truck starts blowing its horn almost as soon as they start - for what? I am a firefighter and we don't do that. The more I think about this, the more it looks fake.

Reality, Nope. Staged, Definately.

[DocLaw172]

Funny thing, in Peotone, we were disected by the Illinois Central which sometimes ran long and slow trains. We just built a second station across the tracks. In Clinton, Illinois, which had north-south and east-west Illinois Central trains, we never really had a problem. Or are they just stupid north of I-80? There are no other routes? No pre-planning? No brains, obviously

[pm0501]

Yes... it was staged but, this is a reality. When I lived in West Chicago I personally observed several emergency vehicles going out of their way to avoid the Washington Street / Wood Street crossings for both the former CNW and EJ&E. WeGo should have planned for an overpass at that junction back in the 1950's

[blbell23]

Reality - a funny word to use in an obviously staged video. How long did those first responders have to sit there and wait for the train to show up so they could be "blocked"?

The first responder issue has always been a red herring anyway. The only issue these NIMBY's are truly worried about is how much extra they may have to wait in their car. Oh, and the cheap cities along the line don't want to pay for infrastructure they should have bought years ago.

[oldrustycars]

CN is taking trains off another line they already have, therefore helping the folks who live along that line. So, what you are saying is its only bad if YOUR emergency responders are delayed.

[bcrailfanatic]

CN wins according to wikipedia, On December 24, 2008, the STB approved CN's purchase for $300 million of the principal lines of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E) from US Steel Corp originally announced on September 27, 2007.

[BNSF7488]

I cant wait till March 6!! I cant wait to see all those long frieght trains rolling through These GREAT Suburbs.... Gotta love the loud horns

[Sylderon]

Yeah...they go from five trains a day to twenty, while my town has seventy and doesn't really notice it...and we're building an underpass.

[qnuts]

It is nice to see my tax dollars at work to make a pointless video and none the less to rip on a SHORT local that has never been more then 30-40 cars long.

You had your chance, CN was all ready to build a 4.5 million dollar trench through Barrington that would separate all of the grade crossings including UP's Harvard Sub which happens to be the same amount that Barrington has spent on "Anti-Train/CN" campaigns that have went nowhere.

Go Railroads!!! Bring those long ass trains.

[Nathanrailfan]

I know you gotta love how Anti-train people blow stuff plum out of proportion.

[Pappster85]

It is funny how no one seems to mind when our own goverment gobbled up and forever scared true american downtowns and communities with the building of the interstate system. A true disaster in American transportation history. All of these cheap and tacky suburbs popped up along the way. They grew like a cancer and were planned so poorly. But that is ok right? Maybe the founders of your communities should have spent the money for bridges and not grade crossings. Railroads are here to stay. Ha Ha

[DJRakow]

CN also MUST build a special Rail overpass to go over one major Freight Commuter Rail line and three Streets in West Chicago,IL.

[Sylderon]

Do you have any clue how expensive and disruptive that would be?

[DJRakow]

CN Must be aware of West Chicago,IL with East-West Union Pacific Metra Line and three Streets Washington,Church and Ann

[HRothstein]

If we're able to shift more freight to rail, there should be a corresponding decrease in truck traffic. Even though I live within a few minutes walk to the rail line, I would still be for this for the good of the country. There is more to this than how it would just affect me.

[CPisthecoolest]

Get CN to route the track elsewhere! If cant fund overpasses and alternate routes.

[CNisthecool]

I wish I've seen a train that is more than 2 miles long. Where I live trains are too damn short.

[xveryhotpepperx]

You know I'm sick and damn tired of people over this CN move. The griping and groaning has to stop. If CN wants it, it's going to happen, you dont have more money than it does to stop it so why bother. You cant stand it because CN is foreign, but U.S. dont give a damn about the railways anyway, so why care that CN is going to buy it out. IF it was BNSF or CSX or NS you wouldn't open your fly! alway's CN or CP. Has anyone heard of a different route or MOVE the hell out! Plain and Simple!

[npx190]

Well then, where will folk move to? Are you going to provide jobs, good schools, hospitals, and all that jazz? No? Shut up, you don't know what your talking about, there are 32 communites on this line that don't have different routes across, that are lesser developed, and if your sick of this stuff, why do you come back for more? Plain and Simple, right back at ya.

[Sylderon]

You act as if the railroad just magicked itself into existence overnight.

[qnuts]

Barrington would like that, hey can you order them a bike path while your at it in place of the EJE?

[Peterotoole2008]

Good news and bad news. The good news is that with the $700B bailout bill your Congress passed, (which will DO NOTHING to solve actual problem) we have guaranteed the depression will start quicker and there won't be much freight anyway. The bad news is that the trend is for big business to buy political favor and run over the populace that doesn't object and in many cases even when they do object. Start going door to door to protest you are going to need your neighbors.

[canadiantimberwolf1]

Actually,there are 2 divisions of the C.N.R.

There is the C.N.R-Canada which operates out of Montreal.Then there is C.N.R-America which is run by the I.C.R.(which is where Bill Gates is included).The last I hear and I am a C.N.R Fan,is that,the planned takeover or purchase is on hold as the time extension is being delayed.Sad because it is Jobs your loseing.Your scare mongering here and itis uncalled for.Learn C.P.R and extend someones chances by 85%.

[crisnolan]

That's like saying Toyota is an American car company because they build some Camry's in Indiana.

[sn0man78]

What was there first? The tracks or the town? And don't say it doesn't matter because as a point of who should pay the costs for overpasses it does matter. If the town went up around the rail lines then the town should help pay a lot of the costs.

[Innocentimmigrant]

Bottom line to all who oppose the CN / EJ&E transaction. If you don't like it, simply move. There are many places in this country that are miles from the nearest railroad.  Like Alaska. Well, I guess you couldn't move there, either, since you probably won't want a pipeline or bears in your back yard. There's always Canada, I guess.

[canadiantimberwolf1]

Sorry Innocentimmigrant,but there are All kinds of Bears in Canada not just Alaska.Browns,Grizzlies and the worse menace Black bears.Did you know that a Black bear has claws like a cat and are the only bears in North America that can climb trees.Oh and the other Grizzlies and Browns will tenderise you and have later on where as the blacks will eat you then and there.Plus,in closing,black bear have been a bit more brazin latley and have been entering homes for food.Not cool.

[ifiuwin]

In 2007 & 08 CN has shipped (Aug-Nov) period 5X more freight, seasonal finished goods. The real "peak train projection" for 09 is 82 trains not 28.

A. STB EIS shows 3 years to put in CN double tracks, etc. In the peak period and the construction period the current Chicago Route will, by CN's lawyer's own admission last evening, NOT see the drop in CN trains stated in the EIS

B. The 100' ROW will support double tracks and Double Stacked Trains 3 miles long. STAR legally can not mix with CN.

[Sylderon]

There is absolutely no way that 82 trains per day could fit through there, even with double track, unless they were following one after the other.

A train 3 miles long is beyond the capabilities of existing draft gear and sidings, and the increased risk of derailment and slower speeds would negate any efficiencies of having a longer train. Also, your claim that STAR cannot legally mix with CN not only isn't supported by any evidence, it also doesn't make any sense.

[ifiuwin]

2 people from CN presented the 3 mile maximum double stacked trains as future capabilities. Their head attorney at the M. Bean meeting and the CEO presenting to the financial analyst on their website. They obviously know what they are planning.

The Port in Pr Ruppert disclose their capacity to offload to CN. Check your facts pls

The directional flow is balanced with 41 trains each. If the trains @ 3M would take about 120 mi of the 300 mi total for the "J". Metra has priority during 6 hrs/day.

[Sylderon]

To think that every single container from Port Rupert will be routed along the former EJ&E, without a single shipment made to any other part of North America is perfectly ludicrous. And also, just because something is technically possible doesn't mean that it will happen. Railroads have tried to maximize train size for years, but can only increase lengths to a certain point before they run into issues of stringlining, slow speeds, clogged sidings, and other issues that make it uneconomical.

[ifiuwin]

Halifax is the East Coast POE and those containers will move along the "J" most of the Indian products use this route. The

housing market will come back soon and the lumber shipments from Canada will flow along the "J" along with domestic coal. If you assert that the China market will not

produce the volume of imports and exports of raw material you don't understand their plans. The number of factory workers in China will expand within 10 years by 200-300M workers. 60% are from farms.

[Sylderon]

This further demonstrates that you have no idea how railroads actually work. Again, Canadian National serves all of Canada from Vancouver to Halifax, and has multiple connections with other railroads in Minneapolis and Detroit. There is only one power plant that makes use of coal shipped on this line, in Waukegan. You are just throwing out statistics without understanding traffic patterns, or the fact that there are six other Class 1 railroads in this country.

[ifiuwin]

The destinations cited by CN indicate the Piggeon Terminal in Memphis. The stats are directly from CN, Pr. Ruppert and Memphis as well as COSTCO. The time of transit to Memphis

supplied by CN shows contradictions to the STB. Of course there is cargo that have connections B4 Chicago. The stats

used in our presentation to the STB are based on public data provided by Class 1 carriers. The CREATE option is

now being funded by Congress which by CN own admission would have stopped the "J"purchase

[Sylderon]

I'm sorry; could you repeat that back to me, but in a way that is actually coherent? I'm afraid that you're just randomly citing statistics without actually knowing what they mean. Also, you seem to be forgetting that there are other West Coast ports in Seattle, Portland, Astoria, San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Long Beach, and San Diego; none of which are served by CN.

[ifiuwin]

The STAR commuter trains must be have a physical separation from the freight trains or a temporal separation (time of day). The IL ICC stated in the STB meeting at McDonald's HDQ stated there would absolutely no way that within the CN 100' Right of Way that CN and STAR could operate without the temporal separation being implemented. The STAR is going to serve the Lincoln Intl Airport as well as commuters thus there is no specific rush hour like Metra. STAR is therefore blocked CN's trackage.

[MilwaukeeF40C]

The STAR plan was poorly thought out to begin with, serving a sprawling decentralized commuter area where automotive travel is more convenient for most commuters.

The separation mandates have more to do with the style of railcars RTA was planning to use, which are like diesel light rail cars. If RTA used conventional equipment like current Metra trains, the separation would be unnecessary.

And since the railroad is privately owned, they shouldn't be forced to accommodate govt. commuter trains.

[ifiuwin]

The CSX PR pushes rail over trucks.  The same logic applies

to commuter rail vs cars. So CN economic choice must change the Metra choice of light rail for STAR. The agreement with Metra and UP and CN dictate temporal separation. The CN is 3rd in line behind Metra and UP freight. This is similar to the crossing runways at O'hare.

The surface vehicles of course take 4th place. The time

to clear a crossing will produce gridlock for all concerned.

The CREATE plan was the solution not the "J'

[MilwaukeeF40C]

The logic of rail vs. road freight does not apply to commuting. Most commuters in the w. suburbs travel routes that do not remotely follow the planned STAR line which is the EJ&E and I-90. People would have to drive to a STAR station, take the train to a station close to their job, and take a bus since very few of the big corporate buildings are within walking distance of the planned STAR line. The decentralized nature of the suburbs mean driving offers more direct routes and faster travel time.

[ifiuwin]

The current hub and spoke traffic patterns are changing. The crime, corruption and taxes in Cook Country are driving the businesses to the "outer loop". The access to the West entrance of O'Hare is part of the STAR plan, Schaumburg with the convention center and Woodfield are also part of the route. The Lincoln International Airport in actually on

the ROW of the J. The construction of this 21st airport will be ongoing and will provide American great jobs. Why should CN take over

this asset?

[Boss302fan]

@ifiuwin Why should CN take this over.....well....how about because they offered the most money for it and railroads in the USA are not run by the government.  That work?

[Sylderon]

I'm sorry, but you don't seem to know how railroads actually work. On every other Metra line, commuter and freight trains coexist with minimal problems, thanks to centralized dispatching and multiple tracks. If you've ever ridden a train to Downers Grove, where I live, you could see how commuter trains leapfrog freights, or sometimes even race each other. And this happens almost every hour of the day.

[pagirly]

I live right next to the tracks of this proposed freight train increase. I am so tired of the amount of train traffic on those tracks right now - can't imagine how much WORSE it's going to be if this passes. Looks like I may be even more screwed when I try to sell my house again. Damn freight trains.

[Sylderon]

Where is that, and how many trains per day do you have, anyways?

[qnuts]

When they fillmed this... 5 a day, now it is 7/day. Sad isn't it? Cannt belive my tax dollars actually went to pay for a stupid film like this to be made.

Barrington, IL

BTW CN offered to pay for a new Fire Station to be build on the other side of the tracks, Barrington said no and chose to fight, now they get nothing, and for those of you who are going to chose to rate this poorly and comment, read the STB report, its all there!

[Sylderon]

I live in a town on the former Burlington Racetrack, three tracks between Chicago and Aurora, 70 trains per day, and my town is perfectly happy. And we're building an underpass.

[asorokop]

BTW - A majority of CN rail stock is owned by Americans and Bill Gates is the biggest Cn shareholder.

[jocro76]

What an eye opener that was. It should be playing on tvs all over town.

[asorokop]

Trains block at-grade crossings when they go by! Hardly a huge shock. People deal with this all around the country. Don't like it, put in an underpass.

[wendemdau]

Each underpass costs 40 - 50 million dollars to install. CN has offered 40 million total dollars towards mitigating the 'issues' which is a drop in the bucket. A majority of the affected communities do not have the bandwidth to pay for mitigation 'out of pocket' nor should they have to. CN will benefit from this acquisition so they should have to pay for the mitigation.

[planetjanet2135]

It worries the heck out of me that the high school in our town is cut off from emergency providers by the tracks!

[321Learn]

We need funding for a bypass. We need to tax trains for every minute they keep the gates down so we can fund a bypass and sound walls around neighborhoods.

I'd hate to live south of the CNW tracks after watching this. In traffic with a few trains around 5pm its impossible for emergency teams to get to the south part of town in less than 5 minutes.

Both trains help the economy, the environment and the nation CN & CNW. We need to find a way to tax them and use the revenue to help ourselves

[al574700]

Interesting. Is the author stating that the life of someone who lives near the EJ&E is more valuable than someone who lives along the grade crossings of the existing CN?

[planetjanet2135]

I don't think that's what anyone is suggesting. If you have find dog doo in your yard, do you take care of it yourself or do you throw it in your neighbor's yard? I hope you don't throw it in your neighbor's yard! Most of the communities that have existing CN crossings have grown up around the railroad traffic, which is a little different than taking mature communities and jacking up the rail traffic by 400+%.Make CN (a private for-profit corporation) pay for all infrustructure improvements!

[al574700]

Point taken. But CN folks have a similar circumstance as EJ&E, i.e. lots of rail traffic in the dark ages, followed by almost none during the 1970-1995 (Wis Central) and followed by a ramp up under CN. Not overnight, granted, but for first responders, a blocked grade crossing is still a blocked crossing and poses the same challenges to respond.

[ilshopper]

i love your comparison! CN is a private for-profit, foreign corporation with a documented track record for being uncooperative. We only need to look at their dealings in this acquisition(threatening our gov't with a lawsuit if it doesn't make a quick decision, refusing to give important info to gov't officials, ie hazard freight specifics) to know that we're looking at a nightmare if this goes through. The only one who will profit is a foreign company at the expense of American taxpayers.

[Innocentimmigrant]

Hey ilshopper, the "foreign company" that you refer to has been operating in the US under multiple subsidiaries for decades (GTW, DWP, CV). I don't recall seeing your posts before the "foreign company" proposed to purchase the EJ&E. CN complies with all applicable US laws. They trade on the NYSE (CNI), and Americans own shares and are paid dividends. If you don't like how they're managed, become a shareholder and express your concerns to their board at the annual shareholder's meeting.

[Sylderon]

CN actually pays about $80 million in US taxes every year, and several times that in wages for its American workers. The people who profit from this are American industries and consumers benefiting from faster freight shipments, on a company whose safety records with hazardous materials is 18 times better than trucks.

[qnuts]

And CN has offered to do so, but Barrington thinks they are entilled to no train traffic even though this is why this line was built over a 100 years ago, to provide an alternative around the city, 60 years ago tthere were two tracks here instead of one now and 60-70 frieghts rolling through the town of barrington on the J and another 40-50 on the CNW northwest line not includuing passenger service trains. Maybe you people should read the STB report before making anymore points. IT's ALL THERE!

[ilshopper]

This is not a community against community issue. Though CN would love for you to believe that. It's not ok for anyone to lose their life because of rail congestion. We need real solutions to this problem, not a "come share in our misery" approach.

[al574700]

Correct again. But rather than pit community against community and pick on a single railroad (timing), better that the solution be one of regional scope, where all railroads and government share equally and areas or crossings across the Chicago region requiring mitigation be ranked and solved in order with EJ&E being no higher or lower weighting in the rankings.

[mrmouni]

how is it any different if an ambulance is delayed in traffic on the highway or roads because of ppl not moving out of the way? its no difference. Get over it. The rail road has been here long before you or I.

[Innocentimmigrant]

I think it's interesting, also. Apparently the value of life in the south Chicago suburbs is more valuable than the lives of those living in the Chicago core. Just a bunch of NIMBY's down there...Get with the times.

[wendemdau]

I take offense to the statement that we are "just a bunch of NIMBY's." No one would wish this on any other community. If getting with the times means waiting for an up to 2 mile long train to cross the tracks once each hour so that a fire truck can cross to save my burning home or so an ambulance can cross to reach my bee-allergic 3 yr old son then I'd better see if Doc Brown and his Delorean are available.

[pfdog]

Do what you can to fight!!!

I live in a Canadian city that is forced to deal with CN trains tying up traffic through the middle of our busy downtown....sometimes for up to 15 minutes!!

Our mayor passes the buck. No one wants to pay to move the tracks outside the city.

These trains don't even need to stop at any businesses in our town of 400,00 people. There have been car/train collisions and pedestrian deaths as well.

I can't even imagine the ramifications if a chemical spill occurred.

[pfdog]

sorry, I meant 400,000 people!

[etheljoseph]

WOW! Shocking! I hope our government gets a chance to view this video.

[iais502]

You can make this same kind of video on every railroad crossing and/or drawbridge in the world. But i don't think you fuckin dumb suburbanites understand that.