Post by momto4 on Nov 15, 2010 11:30:42 GMT -5
napervillesun.suntimes.com/2349138-417/railroad-stb-aurora-canadian-national.html
Issue of crossing costs in hands of court
By Andre Salles asalles@stmedianetwork.com Nov 15, 2010 07:57AM
It’s been nearly two years of legal battles over Canadian National Railway Company’s purchase of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern rail line, and it all comes down to this.
Sometime in the next four months, the U.S. Court of Appeals is expected to rule on whether Canadian National will have to pay more to separate grade crossings in Aurora and Lynwood, and whether the federal Surface Transportation Board conducted a thorough study of the impacts of the $300 million sale before approving it in 2008.
Separating a grade crossing can involve building an overpass or an underpass to let carry motor vehicle traffic.
Canadian National intends to divert its freight trains from a crowded Chicago rail system through the suburbs, a move that eventually would quadruple the number of trains traveling through some neighborhoods. The railroad has already begun moving trains over, and is two years into what it calls a five-year transition process.
The railroad, Surface Transportation Board and a suburban coalition opposed to the sale all made oral arguments before the court last week in Washington, D.C. The court has decided to consolidate a flurry of appeals filed over the past two years into one decision.
The railroad’s beef is with the three-member Surface Transportation Board, which demanded the railway pay 67 percent of improvement costs at the rail crossing on Ogden Avenue on Aurora’s far East Side, and 78.5 percent of similar costs at a crossing in Lynwood (south of Calumet City, near the Indiana border). The railroad, however, cited years of precedent, and believes it should only bear about 5 to 10 percent of the costs of separating these crossings, and taxpayers should have to pick up the rest.
The total cost of improving those two intersections is estimated at $70 million, with Ogden Avenue making up between $40 million and $50 million. Even if Canadian National’s appeal fails, taxpayers will still have to foot the bill for 33 percent, or about $16 million, of the cost of separating Ogden Avenue.
In arguments before the Court of Appeals last week, the railroad’s lawyers called the demand “unprecedented, unjustified, and … beyond the STB’s regulatory authority for non-major transactions such as CN’s acquisition of the EJ&E,” according to a written statement. Karen Phillips, a vice president with the company, has said that the STB has never mandated such a substantial contribution as a condition before.
The railroad pointed out that it has accepted 73 other conditions imposed by the STB, and made commitments to 25 of the 33 communities along the rail line to address environmental and safety issues. Combine that with 108 other mitigation conditions CN has agreed to, and the company is looking at more than $60 million in costs, according to its statement.
But that’s not enough to make up for the disruptions in traffic and potential safety hazards these new trains will cause as they run through formerly quiet suburban neighborhoods, according to The Regional Answer to Canadian National, an opposition group.
TRAC is led by Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner and Barrington Village President Karen Darch.
Darch attended the hearings on Wednesday, and listened as TRAC lawyers argued not only that Canadian National should pay the full amount for the crossings in Aurora and Lynwood, but that the entire case should be sent back to the STB for review.
For nearly all of 2008, the STB conducted an environmental impact study, trying to determine the full impact of the proposed sale on communities along the EJ&E line. The board looked at traffic, noise, safety, air quality and other factors, and finally approved the sale in December of that year.
But TRAC contends that the study was not thorough, and portions of it should be reviewed again. TRAC filed its appeal in January 2009, just weeks after the sale was approved. In a response, however, the STB defended its review, and STB lawyers made their case last week as well.
Within the first quarter of 2011, the court is expected to return with a decision that will determine whether the railroad will pay more for the crossings in Aurora and Lynwood, and whether the STB’s review of the sale will stand.
Darch said judges asked probing questions that convinced her they had done their homework. Of particular interest, she said, were repeated questions about transporting hazardous materials along the EJ&E.
But she refused to predict the verdict.
“You can never tell how it’s going to go,” she said. “There were questions for everyone, and that’s the way it should be.”
Issue of crossing costs in hands of court
By Andre Salles asalles@stmedianetwork.com Nov 15, 2010 07:57AM
It’s been nearly two years of legal battles over Canadian National Railway Company’s purchase of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern rail line, and it all comes down to this.
Sometime in the next four months, the U.S. Court of Appeals is expected to rule on whether Canadian National will have to pay more to separate grade crossings in Aurora and Lynwood, and whether the federal Surface Transportation Board conducted a thorough study of the impacts of the $300 million sale before approving it in 2008.
Separating a grade crossing can involve building an overpass or an underpass to let carry motor vehicle traffic.
Canadian National intends to divert its freight trains from a crowded Chicago rail system through the suburbs, a move that eventually would quadruple the number of trains traveling through some neighborhoods. The railroad has already begun moving trains over, and is two years into what it calls a five-year transition process.
The railroad, Surface Transportation Board and a suburban coalition opposed to the sale all made oral arguments before the court last week in Washington, D.C. The court has decided to consolidate a flurry of appeals filed over the past two years into one decision.
The railroad’s beef is with the three-member Surface Transportation Board, which demanded the railway pay 67 percent of improvement costs at the rail crossing on Ogden Avenue on Aurora’s far East Side, and 78.5 percent of similar costs at a crossing in Lynwood (south of Calumet City, near the Indiana border). The railroad, however, cited years of precedent, and believes it should only bear about 5 to 10 percent of the costs of separating these crossings, and taxpayers should have to pick up the rest.
The total cost of improving those two intersections is estimated at $70 million, with Ogden Avenue making up between $40 million and $50 million. Even if Canadian National’s appeal fails, taxpayers will still have to foot the bill for 33 percent, or about $16 million, of the cost of separating Ogden Avenue.
In arguments before the Court of Appeals last week, the railroad’s lawyers called the demand “unprecedented, unjustified, and … beyond the STB’s regulatory authority for non-major transactions such as CN’s acquisition of the EJ&E,” according to a written statement. Karen Phillips, a vice president with the company, has said that the STB has never mandated such a substantial contribution as a condition before.
The railroad pointed out that it has accepted 73 other conditions imposed by the STB, and made commitments to 25 of the 33 communities along the rail line to address environmental and safety issues. Combine that with 108 other mitigation conditions CN has agreed to, and the company is looking at more than $60 million in costs, according to its statement.
But that’s not enough to make up for the disruptions in traffic and potential safety hazards these new trains will cause as they run through formerly quiet suburban neighborhoods, according to The Regional Answer to Canadian National, an opposition group.
TRAC is led by Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner and Barrington Village President Karen Darch.
Darch attended the hearings on Wednesday, and listened as TRAC lawyers argued not only that Canadian National should pay the full amount for the crossings in Aurora and Lynwood, but that the entire case should be sent back to the STB for review.
For nearly all of 2008, the STB conducted an environmental impact study, trying to determine the full impact of the proposed sale on communities along the EJ&E line. The board looked at traffic, noise, safety, air quality and other factors, and finally approved the sale in December of that year.
But TRAC contends that the study was not thorough, and portions of it should be reviewed again. TRAC filed its appeal in January 2009, just weeks after the sale was approved. In a response, however, the STB defended its review, and STB lawyers made their case last week as well.
Within the first quarter of 2011, the court is expected to return with a decision that will determine whether the railroad will pay more for the crossings in Aurora and Lynwood, and whether the STB’s review of the sale will stand.
Darch said judges asked probing questions that convinced her they had done their homework. Of particular interest, she said, were repeated questions about transporting hazardous materials along the EJ&E.
But she refused to predict the verdict.
“You can never tell how it’s going to go,” she said. “There were questions for everyone, and that’s the way it should be.”