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Alderman To Meet With CSX Next Week To Discuss Freight Train Delays

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Southwest Side alderman is hoping to find some real solutions next week to the traffic tie-ups and annoying situations caused by CSX railroad not keeping up its end of a bargain on the length of its freight trains.

"Our community's fed up," said Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th)

The alderman said 115 residents of the his ward, as well as U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski have written letters to the Surface Transportation Board, seeking solutions to the delays caused by CSX trains that run on the Elsdon line, which passes through several Chicago neighborhoods and suburbs; including Beverly, Mount Greenwood, Evergreen Park, and Merrionette Park.

O'Shea said residents in the area are sick and tired of trains blocking numerous crossings, including busy thoroughfares like 95th, 103rd, 111th, and 127th streets.

"Hundreds and hundreds of occasions, those crossings have been blocked for anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours, and as you know, in an emergency the difference can be seconds between life and death, and we're fed up, and we want something done about it," he said.

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The alderman said the problem is potentially endangering lives, because such lengthy delays impede access to Little Company of Mary Hospital and Advocate Christ Medical Center, both located on 95th Street. Christ is the only Level 1 trauma center in the Chicago area that currently operates south of 15th Street.

As an example of what residents have said about the problem, O'Shea read part of a letter Noreen Sullivan wrote to the Surface Transportation Board:

"While it is annoying to sit and wait for this crossing to clear, my real concern is the number of ambulances that have had to make a U-turn and search for a crossing that would clearly allow them to access the emergency facilities at Advocate Christ Hospital."

O'Shea said 19th Ward resident John Jacob lives near the tracks that run along Sacramento Avenue, and wrote about the stopped engines spewing smelly exhaust, not to mention all the stopped or lengthy trains that tie up traffic on 103rd Street. The alderman said Jacob documented 119 times he has emailed CSX about specific issues.

The alderman said a meeting with CSX will be set up next week.

"I only hope that that discussion includes a real solution, and not a band-aid. We've seen far too many band-aids," he said.

The city of Chicago and the village of Evergreen Park last month filed a petition with the Surface Transportation Board, seeking fines and other sanctions against CSX for allegedly failing to lie up to commitments it made after acquiring the rights to operate the Elsdon line in 2013.

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