I appreciated your coverage of Metra’s plan to study the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern railway for commuter rail service (“Planting the seeds for rail’s future,” June 5). There is great potential for the new service to carry our region’s population between employment and recreational opportunities in the suburbs and relieve congestion on our highway network.
However, you failed to report on the full scope of the study. With the grant received from the Chicago Area Transportation Study, Metra will be studying the line all of the way from Waukegan to the northwestern Indiana border. Due to rapid population growth and increasing employment opportunities within the EJ&E corridor in Will County (growth that is keeping pace with or surpassing the growth in the other counties you listed as part of a “spectacular growth corridor”), Metra agreed not to terminate the study at Eola but to collect ridership numbers on the rail line’s southern segment through the City of Joliet and other Will County communities.
Officials from the Will County communities along the EJ&E have demonstrated strong support for the study and, as part of the Regional Council of Mayors, were instrumental in securing the funding for it. I would agree with you that continued collective support from the communities is critical to the future success of the project. At the same time, I would argue that cooperation, not opposition from one community as you reported, has defined the effort to get the EJ&E study underway.
