Itasca Illinois USA - Elgin and seven other municipalities have joined forces in an attempt to stop plans to merge the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and the Kansas City Southern Railroad (KCS), a move local officials say would adversely impact their communities.
 
Joining Elgin in opposing the plan are leaders from Bartlett, Bensenville, Itasca, Hanover Park, Roselle, Wood Dale, and Schaumburg.
 
The eight communities have entered into a formal intergovernmental agreement and on Monday plan to submit comments on the merger application to the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB).
 
The group revealed the plans at a news conference this month in Itasca to announce the formation of Coalition to Stop CPKC.
 
The US$31 billion deal is still pending approval by the federal STB.
 
It would create the only railroad linking Canada, Mexico, and the United States, and would be the first major railroad merger since the 1990s.
 
Coalition town officials claim the proposed merger would cause at least a 300 percent increase in freight traffic on Metra's Milwaukee District West rail line within three years.
 
The increase in the number of trains and train lengths, with some being as long as 2 miles, would have a detrimental impact on the quality of life, property value, vehicle traffic, emergency services, environment, and pedestrian safety, coalition members claim.
 
At the news conference, Elgin Mayor Dave Kaptain noted that with the merger trains could potentially block traffic at eight grade crossings, including four in the downtown.
 
Public safety crews responding to and from emergencies might have to go to I-90 and Route 20 to get over the Fox River, he said.
 
"We're also the only community that has to cross the Fox River. The railroad tracks are within a hundred feet of the Fox River in downtown Elgin. So it's at a critical point for us," Kaptain said.
 
In the Chicago area, CP shares tracks with Metra's Milwaukee District West and North trains.
 
The railroad also shares tracks with Amtrak trains, including the Hiawatha service to Milwaukee and parts of the long-distance Empire Builder service out of Chicago.
 
KCS doesn't operate in the Chicago region but does cross paths with Amtrak Downstate, near East St. Louis.
 
The company said in its federal merger application it did not expect the uptick would affect Metra or Amtrak service, because in the places where freight traffic is expected to increase there is capacity for additional trains, and the company would schedule freight trains around passenger trains.
 
Amtrak threw its support behind the merger in January, saying CP has consistently earned top marks for causing the least delay to Amtrak passengers.
 
CP has also committed to working with Amtrak to expand and extend service, Amtrak said.
 
However, last month, Metra officials expressed concern that the merger could seriously impact its service by increasing delays due to freight interference on its Milwaukee lines.
 
In January, CP said in a statement, "While the overall impact of the CP/KCS transaction is unambiguously pro-environment and pro-economic growth, we recognize that we will be increasing the number of trains that operate through some communities. We will work hard to be a good neighbor."
 
Mike Danahey.