Canadian Pacific not proposing additional freight trains for Lake County
This month, the Lake County Board passed a resolution opposing the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern railroad combination. The board based its action on the false premise that the result of the combination would be dramatically increased freight trains delaying Metra commuter trains, motorists and emergency vehicles in Lake County.
CP is not proposing any additional freight trains on rail lines in Lake County as part of the combination with KCS. None. That includes on the rail corridor in Lake County known as the Metra Milwaukee District North, where freight trains, passenger trains and commuter trains have successfully operated together for decades. Similar false statements have been made about the combination bringing much longer freight trains and new “convoys” of hazardous materials moving through Lake County.
CP has a long history of providing excellent service to passenger trains, including those in suburban Chicago and Lake County. According to Metra’s own data, for years, CP has successfully dispatched Metra trains on the Milwaukee District North under governing agreements between the freight railroad and Metra. Metra’s own reports show CP’s dispatching of the Milwaukee District North Line produced a 98.5% on-time performance, when excluding Metra-responsible delays, and a 93% record when all types of delays are included.
Under CP’s combination proposal, still under review by federal regulators, freight trains would be added to the shared freight and commuter rail corridor between Bensenville and Elgin. Known as the Milwaukee District West Line, that corridor is located mostly in northern DuPage County and part of Cook County, about 10 miles or more from Lake County. That corridor would see an additional eight freight trains per day, an increase that is squarely in line with the rail line’s historic use where commuter and freight trains have operated for generations.
Much has been made about the movement of hazardous materials through the suburbs, including inaccurate statements about increased oil shipments. Most of the new train traffic the combination will create between Bensenville and Elgin will be intermodal and merchandise traffic. It is not an oil train route today nor is it expected to be one post-transaction. Furthermore, CP has been the safest railroad in North America for 16 years straight, based on Federal Railroad Administration Statistics. Operating safely is at the core of everything we do.
From the beginning, the CP team has worked to provide community leaders, Metra officials and area residents with accurate information regarding this historic proposal joining two railroads stretching across North America that will provide economic, environmental and public benefits to the Chicago area and beyond.
We continue to do just that as we talk to Metra and community officials about our proposed combination and the changes it will bring — and the changes it will not bring — to the Chicago Suburbs.
Andy Cummings, Canadian Pacific community relations
