According to news reports, the Canadian National Railway may be having second thoughts about acquiring the Elgin Joliet & Eastern (EJ&E) Railway Co. and expanding its tracks due in part to public opposition to the project. The CN/EJ&E’s acquisition has garnered a lot of unwanted public attention since combining the two railroads will mean an increase of freight traffic along Chicago’s suburban rail lines. Community members have been staging a public war on the proposal and are requesting bypasses. Even Sen. Obama has joined the opposition. Brent Jang from Globe and Mail reports:
CN announced in September that it had struck a tentative deal to buy the strategic Elgin Joliet & Eastern Railway Co. for $300-million (U.S.), hoping to bypass train gridlock in Chicago’s core by rerouting traffic through EJ&E’s suburban tracks.
But Hunter Harrison, CN’s chief executive officer, said the railway isn’t wearing blinders when it comes to the deal, which would clear the way to speed up shipments across its network, including from the Port of Prince Rupert in British Columbia to the Memphis hub.
“Would we ever walk? Absolutely. I mean, we’re good business people,” Mr. Harrison said yesterday during a conference call, noting that CN hasn’t fallen deeply in love with the deal.
“We could run this railroad without the EJ&E. We could run it a lot more efficiently with it. But if it gets to the point where the mitigation costs or the timing of the issue is going to drag out for so long. … We’re very good at turning our backs and walking the other way and figuring out another way to skin the cat.”
Read full article: CN Says It’s Not Tied to Chicago Deal (Globe and Mail)
