Freight Trains Diverted to Suburbs for NATO Summit

The upcoming North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Chicago is causing Canadian National Railway to reroute some of its trains to the suburbs. The railway says this isn’t affecting Barrington, but some residents say that’s not true.

As part of the security restrictions around Chicago, the Secret Service and Chicago Police Department warn that train traffic around McCormick Place could be delayed. 

“Our plan presents the best possible solution to balancing the need for comprehensive security while minimizing delay and intrusion on ridership,” said Frank Benedetto, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Chicago Field Office.

The railway ordinarily operates freight trains underneath McCormick Place but says it is using its alternate route in the suburbs along the former Elgin Joliet & Eastern Railroad, which Canadian National bought three years ago. Those tracks run through Barrington and a number of other nearby suburbs.

CN spokesman Patrick Waldron told Barrington Patch that while Canadian National is diverting trains due to the NATO summit, it isn’t affecting the village of Barrington. 

Barrington residents say they’ve noticed an increase in freight traffic and noise this week and point the finger at the NATO summit train rerouting plan.

“We’d never been officially informed that there is an increase in traffic,” Village Manager Jeff Lawler said. “Certainly the police department and myself, and a number of residents have confirmed that they’ve noticed many more trains than in the past.”

Waldron said the same average of as many as 14 trains per day continue to chug through Barrington, and the NATO summit did not increase that number. An average of 21 trains per day is expected to go through town by the year 2015.

“This would be just a taste of what would be the greater number that we can expect in the future,” Lawler said.