Railway Track & Structures - August 2008 - (Page 5)

INDUSTRY TODAY STB issues draft EIS on CN acquisition of EJ&E The Surface Transportation Board’s Section of Environmental Analysis has issued the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed acquisition by the Canadian National Railway and Grand Trunk Corporation of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway. SEA is providing the public a 60-day comment period on the Draft EIS, which will begin upon the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's issuance of a notice of availability in the Federal Register on August 1, 2008. At the conclusion of the comment period, SEA will prepare a Final Environmental Impact Statement in response to the comments received. The Board will then issue a final decision, based on all public and agency comments received in the public record in this proceeding, that will address the transportation merits of the proposal and the entire environmental record, including the Draft EIS and the Final EIS. That final decision will either approve the proposed acquisition, deny it, or approve it with mitigating conditions, including environmental conditions. According to the report, CN's Chicago-area railroaders gathered at an open house in late June at the Auto Truck Group’s facility in Bensenville, Ill., to share lunch, chat with suppliers and view equipment. Suppliers at the 2008 open house included: Auto Truck Group, ESCO Equipment Service Co., Goodall Manufacturing/Barber Sales, Inc., Harsco Track Technologies, Holland Co., IMT, Industry-Railway Suppliers, Miller Electric, Modern Track Machinery, Nordco, Racine Railroad Products, Terrace Supply and TT Technologies. Union Pacific, EJ&E, Iowa, Chicago & Eastern, Canadian Pacific Railway, Metra and BNSF had people who attended this year. UP again provided the chefs. (Photo courtesy Auto Truck) projected increase in trains on the EJ&E line is reasonable, adding that it would be unlikely that traffic would be heavier than CN's estimate. The EJ&E line crosses Metra rail lines in Barrington, Spaulding, West Chicago and Joliet-Rock Island Tower. At these locations, the EIS said, CN and Metra would need to work together closely to ensure that the increase in CN freight trains on the EJ&E line can be operated efficiently. The draft EIS noted that the proposal would not prevent the implementation of Metra's proposed suburb-to-suburb STAR line, but could introduce “poten- www.rtands.com Railway Track & Structures August 2008 5 http://www.rtands.com

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Railway Track & Structures - August 2008 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Wish List: What Chief Engineers Really Want in M/W Machinery Keeping Ballast in Shape Amtrak Turns to Sophisticated System to Manage NEC Assets Supplier Profiles Products and Literature People Calendar Sales Representatives Website Directory Advertisers Index Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - August 2008

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