Comment EI-4815
Received or sent (printed as 1/30/2008)
We live mere yards away from the EJ&E tracks in Hoffman Estates. As it stands, noise from the trains -- horns, screeching metal, cars rumbling down tracks -- is often intolerable, particularly when the trains run in the middle of the night. Our house rattles when the trains go by, no doubt causing stress damage to building components. Any increase in the noise and vibration will greatly affect, not only our comfort level, but also the stability of our home. Obviously, the value of our home will diminish substantially if train traffic is increased. Nevertheless, my concern is for the safety of my family and my neighbors. CN's safety record is, in my view, deplorable. A train derailment or collision (all too common for CN) may put a train car in my living room. I am not aware of what will be transported by CN, but I suspect hazardous materials will go through my backyard, at an alarming rate of speed. Even slight carelessness on the part of CN may cause substantial damage to this community. I understand economics -- costs must be measured against benefits in a capitalistic society. However, the local area is being asked to pay the cost (in reduced home value, loss of enjoyment of property, increased travel times, etc.) and bear the risk of these very real dangers for the exclusive benefit of a Canadian company with no accountability to this community or the US as a whole. (CN has cited only a reduction of a very low percentage of trains per day on the near South Side of Chicago, which can hardly be considered a benefit to anyone.) This community should be compensated for all costs and risk it will bear. CN has proposed nothing. In fact, CN executives didn't even bother to come to the open house in our community to answer questions; they sent a lawyer, apparently to be sure CN's rights were protected. Even if your analysis proves very little environmental" impact (I doubt any honest assessment would), the costs outweigh the benefits for this community. CN shouldn't be allowed to reap all of the benefit, while we pay all of the costs. In the event this purchase is approved, what STB officials are willing to be held accountable if CN's failures elsewhere are repeated in my backyard? What compensation will STB assure this community receives for its losses and risk-taking? What assurances will STB make that CN stays within its estimates of train activity? If the answer to any of these questions is "none", STB has no justification for approving this purchase. Thank you for your consideration of my opinion."
Submitted by: Elaine Vorberg Sunderlage
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-4815 · back to the docket sheet