A proposed railroad merger would mean more freight trains in the Chicago area, and Metra and some communities say residents could feel the effects.
In the Chicago area, where train traffic is already dense, Canadian Pacific shares tracks with Metra’s Milwaukee District West and North trains. The railroad also shares tracks with Amtrak trains, including the Hiawatha service to Milwaukee and parts of the long-distance Empire Builder service out of Chicago.
The merger would likely bring an uptick in freight trains to parts of the Milwaukee District West Line, which runs to Schaumburg and Elgin. Canadian Pacific is projecting the merger could boost the number of trains to an average of 11.41 per day by 2027, compared with 3.41 trains per day without the merger.
The company said in its federal merger application it did not expect the uptick would affect Metra or Amtrak service, because in the places where freight traffic is expected to increase there is capacity for additional trains, and the company would schedule freight trains around passenger trains.Amtrak threw its support behind the merger Thursday, saying Canadian Pacific has consistently earned top marks for causing the least delay to Amtrak passengers.
But Metra remains concerned the merger could “seriously impact our service by increasing delays due to freight interference” on the Milwaukee lines, and it will evaluate Canadian Pacific’s statements that service would not be interrupted, Metra officials said in a statement.