Post by title1parent on Jul 4, 2008 5:44:58 GMT -5
Horn illustrates impact of rail line
July 4, 2008 Sun
It was almost as if it was on cue.
Just as Bartlett Village President Catherine J. Melchert began speaking Monday afternoon at the village's train station about the impact that the planned sale of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway would have on the proposed commuter STAR line, she was interrupted by several loud blasts of a freight train's horn.
"We are not a quiet zone yet," Melchert said. "See, we do have freight in Bartlett."
The occasion for gathering at the station was a press conference at which U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Wheaton, announced his plans to introduce legislation next week that would allow the secretary of the Department of Transportation to designate a rail right of way as a "corridor for inter-suburban commuter rail." This would allow for a 36-mile stretch of the EJ&E to be designated as such, blocking Canadian National Railway's attempts to purchase the line and reroute freight traffic around congested Chicago tracks.
Many area leaders fear the acquisition could derail plans for the Suburban Transit Access Route, or STAR line, which would link 100 communities from Joliet to O'Hare. Canadian National said it will continue to work with Metra on the STAR line issue.
- Kathy Cichon
July 4, 2008 Sun
It was almost as if it was on cue.
Just as Bartlett Village President Catherine J. Melchert began speaking Monday afternoon at the village's train station about the impact that the planned sale of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway would have on the proposed commuter STAR line, she was interrupted by several loud blasts of a freight train's horn.
"We are not a quiet zone yet," Melchert said. "See, we do have freight in Bartlett."
The occasion for gathering at the station was a press conference at which U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Wheaton, announced his plans to introduce legislation next week that would allow the secretary of the Department of Transportation to designate a rail right of way as a "corridor for inter-suburban commuter rail." This would allow for a 36-mile stretch of the EJ&E to be designated as such, blocking Canadian National Railway's attempts to purchase the line and reroute freight traffic around congested Chicago tracks.
Many area leaders fear the acquisition could derail plans for the Suburban Transit Access Route, or STAR line, which would link 100 communities from Joliet to O'Hare. Canadian National said it will continue to work with Metra on the STAR line issue.
- Kathy Cichon