CN has completed its $300 million acquisition of the principal lines of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E) and is beginning a step-by-step integration of the acquired lines. The closing follows the Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) recent decision approving the transaction, which came despite objections to the deal by some Chicagoland communities and others worried about environmental and other impacts.
EJ&E operates more than 198 main line miles of track around Chicago from Illinois to Indiana. The remaining operations, including the Transtar subsidiary of United States Steel and the steelmaking operations of U.S. Steel, will become Gary Railway.
In connection with its undertakings to the STB, CN will ensure compliance with the various requirements in the STB's approval of the transaction, including appointing a CN community liaison officer for municipalities along the EJ&E affected by the acquisition. According to E. Hunter Harrison, president and chief executive officer of CN, the company is committed to mitigating the environmental impacts of the acquisition on communities along the EJ&E and has a voluntary mitigation plan in place as well as specific voluntary mitigation agreements with 10 communities in Illinois and Indiana.