If CN doesn't get the J

	Tom Judge Editor

We’ve all heard the expression, “Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.” I’ve been thinking about that as I listen to the reasoned dissent from suburban Chicago and Northwest Indiana regarding the proposed CN acquisition of the EJ&E. If you listen very, very carefully among the misinformation, ranting and raving and NIMBYism being spouted, you can find reasoned discourse, but you have to look and listen very hard.

People don’t like change and many are frightened by this change. Dan Rather is supposed to have said, “You can get away with anything in America as long as you don’t block traffic.” And some traffic will be blocked, no doubt about it.

But let’s look at things from a different perspective. I’m a railroader, so naturally I’m biased in favor of the CN. I’d like to dust off my crystal ball and see what’s likely to happen several years down the road if the current prevailing attitude in EJ&E territory blocks the merger and similar deals. What will things look like in 10 years or 20 if the “aginners” get their way?

Freight and people are going to continue to move around and through the area, and the traffic will increase dramatically. That’s a snowball already rolling downhill that nobody is going to stop. How will that transportation be handled if any community that gets a few more trains on its crossings—actually a total of less then one train per hour in most cases with the EJ&E—can stop any project?

The answer I see is: Not very well. If the railroads can’t upgrade and improve their infrastructure, there will be a massive increase in truck traffic. Can the already overcrowded roads in the area handle it? Absolutely not. Can they build enough roads to handle such increases? Dream on. So instead of roads being blocked 10 percent of the time by trains at crossings, they would be highly congested almost all the time with trucks trying to make their way through the area.

I once listened to a press conference where fire officials and local school leaders condemned the acquisition. I wanted to ask the fire officials how they work around a Union Pacific line in their town that already handles far more trains than the EJ&E will. And I wanted to ask the school officials who were the largest taxpayers in the district because among the top taxpayers would be UP and EJ&E. And the railroads send no children to use the school districts’ services. Weaken the railroads and you weaken two of your strongest local taxpayers. That will make things interesting for both fire and school officials who depend on those taxes.

The entire Chicago area is a national transportation hub. Transportation is the fundamental reason the area grew into a major metropolis. Without a strong system, including—maybe even especially—railroads, the area’s economy will go downhill, both city and suburbs.

So be careful what you wish for.

Tom Judge, Editor