Additional freight trains coming through Elgin as a result of a proposed Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern rail merger could cause dangerous delays in getting ambulances and fire trucks to emergency scenes, Elgin Fire Chief Robb Cagann said.
Speaking Monday at a Surface Transportation Board hearing in Itasca, Cagann said the creation of a massive system that would have trains running from Canada to Mexico through the U.S. — more than doubling the number of trains going through Elgin — would put people’s lives and property in jeopardy.
Cagann was joined by Elgin Police Chief Ana Lalley and Mayor Dave Kaptain in voicing opposition to the merger.
Right now, Elgin firefighters can respond to emergencies on either side of the Fox River relatively unimpeded, he said. The addition of more freight trains, some of which could be up to two miles long and block four of the city’s six railroad crossings, would create a very different scenario, Cagann said.
“The need to rapidly deploy fire suppression resources to an active fire to contain the damage is simply a matter of physics,” he said. “In other words, the longer it takes for a fire department to arrive at the scene of an active fire, the greater the likelihood of damage occurring.”
Additionally, the city’s two hospitals, both Level 2 trauma centers, are on the city’s west side. Trains blocking the crossing could add long travel times when someone in a life-threatening situation needs to be transported from the east, he said.
“The need to get critically injured or ill people to care is solely based on biology. Simply saying an ambulance will only be delayed by a number of minutes will not inhibit brain or cardiac death,” he said.
The Coalition to Stop CPKC, made up of Elgin and seven other suburban communities, is adamantly opposed to the merger and rallied local, state, and federal officials to speak at Monday’s public hearing in Itasca.
In addition to blocking emergency vehicles, other points raised at the hearing centered on the detrimental effects more train traffic will have on residents’ lives due to vehicle delays and congestion, noise and environmental issues.
Opponents said they were angered that a draft report done by the Office of Environmental Agency did not address those issues but concluded additional train traffic would have not have a negative effect on the community.
Stop CPKC estimates freight traffic on the Milwaukee District West rail line will increase by as much as 300% in three years.
Cagann said the fire department already deals with delays caused by 19 Metra trains that go through town. Adding more freight trains, which are slower than commuter trains and longer, would have a “negative impact on the health and welfare of Elgin residents,” he said.
Elgin Police Chief Ana Lalley agreed, telling the board that more train traffic will have a big impact on the time police officers need to get to certain parts of town.
“A police officer’s timely and safe response is paramount. Seconds, not minutes, can make a difference in the outcome,” she said.
Police respond to 150 service calls a day throughout the city’s 38 square miles, Lalley said. The police department, and the specialized equipment it sometimes needs to call into use, is all located on the east side, she said.
They have strategies to deal with commuter trains when responding to emergencies, but there’s no guarantee they will work when a freight train is blocking one or more railroad crossings for long periods of time, she said. It will ultimately increase response times, putting officers and residents in “precarious situations,” she said.
Mayor David Kaptain urged the board to consider the concerns that community leaders raised.
“Please do not trade the lives of our residents and the wellbeing of our residents for the benefit of business, their business, their futures,” Kaptain said. “The (two railways) are just looking at this as a trade-off, the cost of doing business. I don’t want our residents to be collateral damage.”
The public can submit comments on the merger to the Surface Transportation Board through Oct. 14.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
