Comment EI-13138
Received or sent (printed as 9/24/2008)
I am a resident of Naperville, IL and am directly affected by Docket 35087, the purchase of the EJ&E Railway by Canadian National. As currently stated, I oppose the purchase, My children attend Indian Prairie Schools. As the third largest district in the state, Indian Prairie transports 17,500 students each day. The rail line in question stretches more than 11 miles through the district with seven schools located within a half mile of the tracks. There are two grade-level crossings of particular concern. School buses cross the Ogden Avenue tracks a total of 164 times each day and the Montgomery Avenue tracks 139 times each day. If the proposed sale goes through, there is an expected increase not only in the number of trains traveling though the community, but also in train length. Gate closures are anticipated to increase up to 10 minutes per train. Delays created by rail traffic will impact students arrival to school as well as their timely return home. I would propose the STB require CN to implement the following actions as conditions of the merger: 1) 100% funding by CN of Under/Over passes as key intersections, including Ogden Avenue (US 34) and Diehl Road, both are critical locations for high schools and are busy intersections. 2) 100% funding by CN for fencing or retaining walls to ensure students do not use tracks as a shortcut on key routes to schools (A West Chicago Child was killed along the same line in 2008) 3) 100% funding by CN of video enforcement for other key intersections similar to that in place on the BNSF at River Road in Naperville 4) Assurance that the STARR line will have trackage rights to operate commuter trains, as per existing agreements between METRA and the EJ&E Railway. Thank you for your consideration.
Submitted by: Laurence Pearlman · Naperville, IL
The Board publishes this comment in its environmental-comment table for this proceeding. It is quoted here as printed; nothing is inferred from it, and it states the commenter's own position in their own words, not this record's.
Permanent address docketyard.org/d/FD-35087/comment/EI-13138 · back to the docket sheet