Dupage Policy Journal

The Village of Roselle continues to oppose a major railway merger.

“We anticipate the federal government will make its final decision this spring,” Mayor David Pileski said at the village's Feb. 13 board the meeting. “Regardless of that outcome, though, we will continue to work with the rail companies and all government agencies to ensure that we can provide the necessary relief and protection for our residents and businesses.”

The board uploaded a livestream of its public meeting to the village’s YouTube channel.

In the summer of 2022, Canadian Pacific Railroad and Kansas City Southern Railroad started the process of requesting a merger between the two massive railways. The $31 billion merger would affect towns all over the country, from Chicago to Houston, and many residents in Roselle are opposed to it. 

Roselle was one of the first and most adamant opposers to the merger, which would send eight additional trains through the village each day. Roselle joined a coalition to stop the merger from happening along with many other communities opposed to the changes. They have been fighting this for over a year now, and the Surface Transportation board recently released its final findings for potential environmental impacts and will make its final decision on whether or not it will be approved soon.

In Pileski's state of the village address, given at the meeting, he praised the efforts of his community for advocating for themselves and the place they call home. 

The vilage was able to gather eight different elected officials in state and federal offices to support the village, held hearings in Illinois and Washington, D.C., where the mayor and other city officials were represented, and the citizens of Roselle wrote over 130 letters to their representatives and submitted almost 30 comments to the Board of Surface Transportation to plead their case.

The Board of Surface Transportation recently released that they found no substanial environmental impact from the potential merger that could stand in the way of approving it. Many legislators started urging the board to delay the final decision, which could happen as soon as Feb. 28, so that they could provide their own arguments and findings, or find better ways to protect their communities. The board is still expected to make its decision by April 1 at the latest.

In other business, the board discussed purchasing water meters from Badger Water Meter for no more than $80,000.

The board will meet again at 7 p.m. on Monday at the Village Hall at 31 South Prospect St.