Chicago Suburbs See Fewer Freight Trains, Not More

Where are all the trains? Chicago suburbs worried about an expected increase in freight trains due to the CN purchase of a rail spur through their backyard, but that worry has not materialized after the acquisition.

1 minute read

August 4, 2009, 5:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur

"When the Canadian National (CN) Railway Co. won federal approval to buy the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Co. line for $300 million last December, outer-ring suburbs like Barrington and Plainfield worried about the effects of heavy freight traffic.

CN indicates that the low freight traffic volumes are due to the slow economy, so they are less than what CN projected when they first planned to expand operations through the suburbs."

Thanks to Michael Rodriguez

Transportation United States Illinois Transportation Freight Rail

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