HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — A suburb northwest of Chicago has gone on record opposing Canadian National’s plan to double track a portion of the former Elgin, Joliet & Eastern, citing concerns about the impact on the adjacent residential area.
The village of Hoffman Estates on Monday approved a resolution calling on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct additional reviews of the project and for the railroad to mitigate impacts of the plan should it be approved.
CN, acting under its Wisconsin Central Ltd. subsidiary, is seeking to double-track 4.27 miles of the former EJ&E, which it acquired a decade ago to speed the flow of freight and bypass Chicago’s congested rail hub.
CN has applied to the Army Corps for a permit to construct the additional main line track from Shoe Factory Road to Spaulding Road, between Hoffman Estates and Elgin, Ill. The permit is necessary because of the potential impact on wetlands.
But the project has drawn opposition from residents of subdivisions whose homes border the tracks. The group FARE (Families Against Railway Expansion) contends that the double tracking will result in additional, longer, and faster trains, and will create more opportunities for locomotives to idle near homes. This will mean a significant increase in noise, vibration, air pollution and safety hazards, the group says.
The opposition and grounds for fighting the proposal are similar to an effort in Glenview, Ill., that ultimately blocked plans for new sidings that were part of a plan to allow more Amtrak Hiawatha service between Chicago and Milwaukee. [See “Illinois DOT bows to opposition on sidings for Hiawatha expansion,” Trains News Wire, May 13, 2019.]
Officials from Hoffman Estates, a village of more than 51,000 and the corporate home of Sears and the Midwest headquarters for AT&T, says the homeowners concerns should be addressed by the railroad and by the Army Corps. The agency is expected to make a ruling on the permit this fall.
The resolution requests that several actions be taken, including a prohibition on idling at crossover locations adjacent to residential areas, and the relocation of one crossover further away from homes. The village also seeks replacement of vegetation to screen the tracks. Furthermore, the village contends that the railroad’s permit application does not address the effects of train vibration, and makes inconsistent estimates of train volumes. The railroad’s Environmental Impact Statement submitted when the EJ&E was acquired should be revised, the village contends, because it did not include mention of the second mainline track.
CN, in a statement to Trains News Wire, said the “proposed track extension project is essential for enhancing the fluidity of the Chicagoland rail network. The track improvements will lessen our impact on residents and commuters by reducing train delays across the region. CN understands the residents’ concerns and will continue to follow the US Army Corps of Engineers’ permitting process. CN remains committed to engaging with communities along our tracks to highlight the public benefits of the project.”
At a public hearing in May, David Woodruff, CN’s Washington, D.C.-based head of government and public affairs, defended the project, saying it was part of the railroad’s $22 billion in capital investments over the past 10 years, including an expected $3.9 billion in spending in 2019. He and other CN officials said the project’s goal was to speed the flow of trains, not have them idling on a siding, which would be a “fundamental breakdown” of service to its customers.
The proposed work, when combined with existing tracks, would create a 6.1-mile-long double-track segment on a corridor that is one of the “primary north-south mainline tracks along the WCL corridor that transports between Winnipeg, Canada and Chicago,” CN’s petition states.
The forecast capacity for 2020 includes an additional nine trains per day along this stretch. The second main line “is intended to allow for uninterrupted flow of freight traffic by allowing northbound and southbound trains to pass freely without stopping or slowing,” the application states.
The Surface Transportation Board approved CN’s acquisition of the former EJ&E line in 2009 after a highly contentious battle with the communities along the 198-mile line. CN’s goal was to use the line to circumvent Chicago’s notoriously jammed hub, which sees hundreds of freight and passenger train movements each day.
— Updated at 5:50 p.m. on Oct. 22 with CN statement; updated at 9 a.m. on Oct. 23 to correct CN capital spending in 2019 to $3.9 billion.
These stories are priceless. A person I know wanted to be close to a military installation for the PX and Commissary privileges. They bought a home and were very happy, until they learned that the armor would be relocated there from Germany. Armor ranges are quite large and noisy. His wife got with several others, and demanded that the USA suspend any and all operations. They even paid for attorneys that gleefully took their $$ and made motions in court. Silly, bordering on foolish.
People living near Seattle’s airport also tried to sue. Seriously, how idiotic are some people? If you are looking at a home or property, the plotted land is shown, along with Rights of Way. If you see scary choo-choo train tracks, do not buy there.
Common sense from the I am smarter than you crowd is sorely lacking. And, for you of this mindset, stay off the tracks. This is not your private walkway.
Am I the only one enjoying the humorous variations in Anna Harding’s stock tag line?
“Move along, this is not the disclaimer you are looking for.”
“Please deflate your shoes.”
“… are genetic in nature…” (read that carefully)
Chicago homebuyer: I really hate trains. Well guess I’ll buy this house next to the railroad tracks and botch about trains until the day I die.
Lets put it in simple terms , the railroad was their 1st , a developer came along and built homes near the tracks , people moved in knowing their was a railroad nearby, DA , You cant move a railroad but you can move to another development , now theirs an idea.
I wonder how many of these NIMBYs’s 401ks or pension fund owns some CN stock?
Reminds me of the people in Howard Beach when jets started to fly into JFK airport. They moved into the area knowing an airport was there and then complained about it. The more things change the more they stay the same.
ERIC – To your point, why CN downplayed anticipated traffic levels. When CN first bought the “J” the NIMBYs were already out for tribute. Just proves that when you pay blackmail, you get more blackmail.
Mister Elliot:
Traffic density out of O’Hare airport is high enough that it is in constant use, and anyone can look at it and realize that it is (arguably) a public good and should remain. On the other hand, I would not be surprised to learn that there are some restrictions on takeoffs, such as you see in San Francisco – when taking off to the west the aircraft, once airborne, are required to throttle back as they pass over population, and it is only when they are over the ocean that they may throttle up and gain airspeed and altitude.
If ever one of those Boeing (or Airbus) heavies stalls and falls out of the sky because of this, there will be [the Christian place of eternal punishment] to pay.
On the other hand. You and I know that railroad rights of way are private property. That however is not the perception of the general public. Like parks, woodlands, and other infrastructure not frequently and continuously used by the owner ( a train once an hour does not count, a train every two minutes does count) the ROW, in the mind of the average citizen is public property and therefore it is up to them, not the railroad, to decide what if anything can be done with it.
Many times in life, it is perception, not reality, which is important.
The above comments are genetic in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. Please deflate your shoes.
I recall when CN was purchasing this line that they downplayed the potential future traffic levels. Apparently traffic is high enough to warrant expanded infrastructure
Just to add, only 500 yards of the city is actually on the CN ROW. The city didn’t want to incorporate the ROW back when it was EJ&E, but they wanted the land west to get the taxes off of the Sears HQ complex, so they incorporated the bare minimum (500 yards) so they could be contiguous. Also many of the “wetlands” around the ROW are actually man made. The Cook County Forest Preserve bought a large swath of farmland north of Poplar Creek in the 60’s & 70’s and let the land return to its natural state.
So technically the railroad predates the wetlands.
The people who are complaining all live in a quadrant bordered by Golf Road, Shoe Factory Road and Rohrsson Road. About 50 houses total have backyards up against the ROW. All of these houses were built when EJ&E did most of their moves at night and at low speed.
For those who are unaware of the geography. This path for CN to add another track is exactly where they are having problems switching with the CP at Spaulding Yard.
I believe Anna is right in that the residents of Hoffman Estates aren’t dealing with the world as it is. It’s a given that living by a railroad, highway, or airport is or will be noisy. If you don’t like, don’t move there, or if you’re there, move elsewhere. I’m reasonable sure getting money to move won’t be a problem.
Has anybody looked at the incorporated area of Hoffman Estates. It looks like a Gerrymandered election district map.
In this case I hope that CN walks in them.
I’m surprised these “creatures” haven’t petitioned to shut down Ohare field. I can’t believe they’re not going deaf from the sound of planes taking Off and landing right over their swollen heads.
Not a fan of NIMBY or entitlement or well funded opposition being successful but not the converse. But as usual this isn’t a black/white conflict, there are some shades of gray here.
1. This is a freight-only line. Yes I understand how opposition to transit bringing so-called “urban undesirables” into their so-called “problem free communities” works, as well as some of the euphemisms used to communicate that opposition, but this ain’t that.
2. This line when most of the residential developments were built was a sleepy underutilized one short round trip a day corridor for the EJ&E whose “Outer Belt” and Waukegan-area steel products raison d’etre had long since played out.
3. While it’s quite possible that the longer stretch of double iron *can* reduce idling trains parked next to residential developments, the article did mention a request to move a crossover. Such crossover control points can be used for running around *stopped* trains. It’s not like CN freight trains never run afoul of hours of service and never need to be held somewhere to wait for relief crews. This lengthened stretch of double track is perfect for holding such trains while still permitting meets to occur. So it’s not preposterous to think that idling diesel noise and fumes won’t be eliminated or even substantially reduced as a result of this project. I love watching freight trains but I’m pretty sure I’d not want to live near a location where idling freight diesels are a frequent occurrence 24/7/365.
Mister Counts:
I am morally certain they realize all this. That is not the point. These arguments, specious as they might be, are simply ammunition.
From what I have seen of this bunch the real objection is the kind of riffraff (such as you and I) that the trains will bring through the community. Heaven forfend that one of us might stop, get off the train, and sully their pristine community.
As is commonly said in this business, “Any argument you can make with a straight face.”.
The above comments are genetic in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. The purpose of law enforcement agents and similar undesirables is to protect riffraff like us from riffraff like us.
Wait a minute, they say it will give more opportunities for trains to idle near houses. Do they know that double tracking will in fact eliminate sidings, where trains stop and idle near houses. If they are expecting more trains through this sub, it will mean a more crowded single main, and thus more stoppage time on sidings, with trains idling near homes, waiting for the right of way. With a double track all meets can be made with both trains in motion and then you don’t have to stop and idle. This would actually reduce stoppage time in the long run. Not saying trains will never stop to idle again, but the double track would in fact reduce time stopped, not increase. (They will have to deal with more while the MOW is working to add another line, but thinking long term, this doesn’t really seem like an issue for this community. It’s like complaining about the smell of tacos when you are hungry, it might not be great at first and smell like an armpit, but after you eat it, the hunger goes away. Maybe that’s not the best analogy but hey)
The difference between Glenview and this, is that the track thru Glenview was a Metra/Amtrak project, who were subject to political control. CN is not subject to the same control.
Anna Harding – As Charles Krauthammer used to say, “Strong Letter To Follow.”
Mister Berg:
Actually, it was the opening of the Northwest Tollway which caused the village to boom. The railroad was simply a pass-through operation at the time (1958). And as long as the Northwest Tollway is not in the village (it is not) and the traffic it bring does not include “undesirables” (as occasionally happens) they are happy.
I do not think their objection is to the second track itself. Rather, the objection is to the sorts of people (such as you and I) which it might bring. I can’t remember if Hoffman Estates is a gated community but if it is not, I am certain the residents view this as an affront to all civilized forms of life (which, of course does not include riffraff like us).
It’s just that kind of place.
The above comments are genetic in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. Move along, this is not the disclaimer you are looking for.
It just behoove’s me…these “I’m better than thou” NIMBY’S…after all, they moved there more than likely AFTER the tracks were installed, yet, doesn’t think it’s right for the railroads to use them as they see fit….Idiotic is a polite way to describe folks like this.
This bunch again. Hoffman Estates is … notorious … in legal circles due to a SCOTUS decision in 1982. While that decision (and the regulations under litigation at the time) concerned paraphernalia, it has been used in other contexts, e.g., Papachristou v. Jacksonville where it showed up in litigation concerning a vagrancy statute.
Which is to say they have a history of shutting down enterprises, businesses, or developments they just don’t like.
These people are … not like us, in that their personal feces are not odorifous. They are highly litigious, their way is the right way, they are better than us, and don’t you forget it.
This issue will not be resolved quietly.
The above comments are genetic in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. Like wow, man, fer sure, man, we tried it last night, man, and we was doing good, man, until we cut John in half. After that he didn’t smoke any joints at all, man …
FARE probably is trying to spell FAIR but these rich overprivileged snobs don’t know how to spell FAIR so they spell it FARE, as in, Pay your FARE to ride the train.
I’m reminded of that great line from the British police series Inspector George Gently. Detective Sergeant John Bacchus, who came from a poverty background in the English outback, talking about the British aristocracy says. “These people have been f#rting in our faces for generations”.
This really is NIMBY.