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CN commitment not enough for Durbin

BY BECKY MALKOVICH, The Southern

Friday, February 15, 2008 11:17 PM CST

A commitment from CN railway company that promises to keep Amtrak trains on track to Southern Illinois and beyond is apparently not enough to ease concerns of Amtrak officials and Sen. Dick Durbin.

Amtrak issued a warning last month that the proposed acquisition by CN of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway could cause great delays or even the halting altogether of Amtrak service between Chicago, Southern Illinois and New Orleans.

If the acquisition is approved, CN would reroute its trains over the EJ&E lines as a way of bypassing severe congestion in Chicago.

CN also would eliminate all of its operations on an 11-mile stretch of track north of Interstate 90, the same track used by Amtrak trains.

Amtrak officials said that CN's abandonment of the track would leave its trains facing "circuitous" routes that would cause lengthy delays and could cause the company to discontinue downstate service.

In a letter to Durbin dated Feb. 14, CN President and CEO E. Hunter Harrison addressed those concerns.

"Earlier this week, in order to alleviate any concerns that Amtrak would be forced to cease operations over the (northern track), I advised Alex Kummant, Amtrak's president, that Amtrak is welcome to remain on the (route) indefinitely," he wrote, until an acceptable alternative is available for Amtrak trains.

One alternative suggested by Amtrak is the construction of a new route that would connect CN to Norfolk Southern Railway line at Grand Crossing near Chicago's 75th Street.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the letter to Durbin "does not break any new ground. There is nothing about any contribution by them (CN) to building Grand Crossing; how they would maintain the (current) line or what they would charge us."

In a press release issued Friday, Durbin revealed his own concerns about the economic impact the CN acquisition could have on communities like Carbondale and he asked that the Surface Transportation Board expand its environmental impact analysis of the proposed acquisition.

"Utilizing underused track like the EJ&E would allow goods to move through Illinois quicker and help maintain Chicago's role as the nation's rail hub," Durbin said. "The STB, however, should not overlook the impact on Amtrak and the communities affected by this acquisition. I strongly encourage the STB to take these concerns into account as it undertakes this environmental analysis."

Durbin also asked that the STB conduct public hearings in affected towns along the routes "to determine potential economic loss, particularly in the two most popular stations along affected Amtrak routes: Champaign and Carbondale."

In addition, Durbin said approval of the acquisition without certain conditions "would effectively eliminate a CN rail line critical to the operation of six daily Amtrak trains.

"This would put at serious risk Amtrak service to Champaign and Carbondale," Durbin said. "Compromising these routes would almost certainly jeopardize further Amtrak expansion in Illinois and devastate the Illinois communities along the routes.

"I am particularly concerned about the impact on Champaign and Carbondale, the two most popular stations along the affected Amtrak routes," Durbin said.

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