Safety concerns heightened after approval of railroad merger

This is insane. This is insane. It is very reckless for elected officials to not do anything about it. A multi-billion dollar railroad merger means 400% more rail traffic in some suburbs. The merger was approved by the federal government today. A coalition of suburban leaders says their fight against it is not over. Elizabeth Matthews has a story from Itasca.

Concerns about delays at railroad crossings for first responders and for commuters. Some of the freight trains expected to be two miles long. This one's already late sometimes anyway. Especially my morning commute, it's off-hudge. It's going to block traffic. It's going to cause delays on the commuter trains. But really the second issue, which is more important to me, is the fact that the fire station is right over there.

From three or four freight trains a day on these tracks to now at least 11 in parts of DuPage County like Bensonville, Elgin and Itasca. My house value is going to be decreased. How many people are going to try to come by house over here? With the air pollution, noise pollution, traffic. In Elgin, concerns about potential derailments, hazardous waste contaminating the adjacent Fox River, a water supply for many. 11,000 additional car loads of hazardous materials will course through the Chicago suburbs. 50% of which are flammable. Federal regulators say this merger will create more than 800 union jobs.

Metra says they opposed this merger and hopes that it doesn't impact their schedules. In Itasca, Elizabeth Matthews, Fox 32, Chicago.

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