Every few seconds, trucks pulling shipping containers roll in and out of the Bensenville Canadian Pacific yard. It’s a busy area and one that suburban Chicago mayors worry will only get busier if a proposed merger between Canadian Pacific and the Kansas Southern Railways goes through.
"Public safety will be threatened," said Tom Dailly, mayor of Schaumburg.
Dailly expects train traffic in what is referred to as the Milwaukee District West Line, but a spokesperson for the Canadian Pacific said the railroad’s proposal is to increase the number of freight trains by an average of eight per day, from three to 11.
In Schaumburg on Tuesday, a group of suburban mayors met with Sen. Dick Durbin and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi looking to lessen the impact on their communities. Krishnamoorthi claims no metropolitan area in the country is more affected than the Chicago region with more than 50 crossings along one, 20-mile stretch of track.
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The proposed $31 billion deal would link the two railroads in a network that would reach from Canada through Mexico.
The Canadian Pacific said it has "approached concerns about the merger’s impacts with seriousness and willingness to work toward reasonable solutions. We remain committed to that."
But others, including the Metra commuter rail system, worry the merger could throw Chicago rail traffic into chaos.
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Itasca Mayor Jeff Pruyn said the tracks cut communities like his in half. Itasca’s fire chief said his department will be forced to find alternative routes.
"If we do an alternative route from our fire house, it would take 14 minutes to get to a run that would normally take a minute and 15 seconds," said Chief Jack Schneidwind.
The mayors and legislators want a new environmental impact study done before the deal goes forward.
Mexican regulators have already given their approval to the merger, but the Surface Transportation Board must sign off in this country. Its chairman is former alderman and Metra board chairman Marty Oberman.
The draft impact study done by the STB’s Office of Environmental Analysis found that "with the exception of noise impacts, OEA’s analysis found that the impacts of the Proposed Acquisition would be negligible, minor, or not adverse."
The Canadian Pacific projects the new transportation options made possible by a single company rail connection between Canada, the United States and Mexico will allow 64,000 long-haul trucks a year to be converted to rail.
In that busy Bensenville rail yard, Canadian Pacific said it has already started a multi-year project worth several hundred million dollars. The goal, it said, is to transform that rail yard, significantly expanding the capacity to receive and depart trains efficiently.
A final decision on the merger is expected in the next few months from the STB.
