TRANSPORTATION

Weeks after Ohio derailment, feds mull merger set to bring more freight trains to the Chicago area

By Sarah Freishtat and Ezra Maille

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Long before the Ohio train derailment, the proposed $31 billion merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern drew consternation from west suburban communities and Metra commuter rail, whose Milwaukee District West line to Elgin is expected to be affected. Communities have raised concerns about traffic and commuter train delays, noise, vibrations, health and safety hazards, and potential problems for first responders trying to reach emergencies who find their paths blocked by trains at road crossings.

The merger would create the only railroad linking Canada, Mexico and the United States, and would be the first major railroad merger since the 1990s.

It is also projected to bring more trains to the Milwaukee District West line, where Metra shares tracks with Canadian Pacific. The railroad is projecting the merger could add an average of eight extra freight trains per day to parts of the line, bringing the total number to an average of just over 11 trains per day by 2027.

Several entities, including Metra, have disputed Canadian Pacific’s estimates and questioned the railroad’s modeling. In federal filings, Canadian Pacific has said concerns about higher-than-estimated numbers of trains passing through the area are unfounded and disputed that the merger will affect Metra, saying there is enough capacity on the line to handle more trains.

... Every day, more than 1,300 freight and passenger trains pass through the Chicago region, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Though the amount of derailments has been on a steady decline since the 1970s, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the number of tankers carrying hazardous materials on derailed trains has risen. In 2019, railroads in Illinois handled about 9.95 million tons of hazardous materials, according to the Illinois Commerce Commission.

... According to the Association of American Railroads, the chemical industry is one of the largest in the United States, and 19% of its transport costs are attributable to rail. The highest-volume chemical carried by U.S. railroads is ethanol. Over half of all rail chemical carloads contain various industrial chemicals, including soda ash, caustic soda, sulfuric acid and anhydrous ammonia. Plastic materials and synthetic resins account for nearly a quarter of rail chemical carloads and most of the rest are agricultural chemicals.