Visit to Aurora crossing

AURORA -- Concluding a whirlwind tour of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern railroad tracks, Daniel Elliott, the new chairman of the federal Surface Transportation Board, stopped in Aurora Wednesday afternoon to meet with opponents of Canadian National Railway Company.

Elliott was appointed to the three-member board by President Barack Obama in July and was sworn in in August. As the board's newest member, Elliott missed out on the full year it took to approve CN's $300 million purchase of the EJ&E and the public outcry over the railway's plans to divert train traffic from Chicago onto those suburban tracks.

After spending Tuesday with Canadian National officials and touring the EJ&E line, Elliott came to Aurora on Wednesday, where roughly 25 local leaders met him with questions and concerns.

Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner attended, along with Alderman Lynda Elmore, through whose 10th Ward the EJ&E tracks run. State Rep. Darlene Senger, Naperville Mayor George Pradel, and members of the DuPage and Will County boards were there, as was a representative from the office of U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert, who set up the meeting.

"He seemed very interested and very open," Weisner said of Elliott. "The fact that he made the effort to be out there is a good sign."

The group also toured the Ogden Avenue crossing, one of two that CN is required to upgrade by 2015. The railroad is also required to pay 67 percent of the cost of that upgrade, estimated at $40 million to $50 million.

Weisner said the group urged Elliott and the STB to take a more active role in overseeing Canadian National and suggested hiring a third-party firm to keep tabs on them. Weisner, who co-chairs The Regional Answer to Canadian National, a coalition of opponents, has raised concerns over CN's safety record and has accused the rail company of not being forthright about its plans.

Elliott also heard from a member of the Aurora Fire Department, who suggested that real-time GPS information about the location of CN trains would help emergency responders immensely.

Assistant Fire Chief Tom Greiner said the department has already had to switch coverage areas around in anticipation of higher train traffic. But in many cases, he said, real-time information would be valuable.

CN spokesman Patrick Waldron did not confirm whether CN tracks that information or could make it available, simply saying, "Train visibility systems are being developed to address those concerns."

For Elmore, getting that info to the fire department would be a sign that Elliott was listening on Wednesday. But she said she was impressed that Elliott made the trip to meet with them.

"It's important that the STB start to address some of these concerns," she said. "I did have the feeling he was saying, 'My door is open; call me.'"