Huge Intermodal Operation Coming To Northwest Indiana

A huge intermodal operation is planned for Northwest Indiana, according to news reports.

Gary's Kirk Yard will become a huge intermodal operation when Canadian National Railway buys the EJ&E Railway, reports the Northwest Indiana Times.

Canadian National CEO E. Hunter Harrison on Wednesday said Kirk Yard south of U.S. Steel Gary Works is a "critical part" of the railroad's proposed $300 million purchase of the EJ&E, which could cut train waits in Chicago by as much as a day.

Time will tell if the creation of a huge intermodal operation operation in Gary will increase the need for alternative transportation routes -- namely the Illiana Expressway -- in Northwest Indiana.

Kirk Yard Intermodal Northwest Indiana Gary Indiana Canadian National EJ&E transportation

Anti Illiana Expressway Group Joins With Anti Intermodal Coalition

A group that opposes the proposed Illiana Expressway has joined forces with a LaPorte, Indiana activist group opposed to a proposed Norfolk Southern intermodal rail yard in Union Mills, reports nwi.com.

"We have mutual goals because the wolf is at the back door. There's the obvious connection between the intermodal and the Illiana Expressway. This is by no means won. We know it's coming back and if either project goes through, the other will follow," (said Dave) Ahlberg (of Citizens Against the Privitized Illiana Tollroad).

(Ty) Murray, a business and property owner, said: "We are not opposed to jobs and growth for the community, but this is literally taking LaPorte and transforming it to the likes of East Chicago. We don't want our community to go from a rural community to an industrial community."

WNDU South Bend reports that the intermodal facility has tapped former Democratic Governor Joe Kernan as a consultant.

Writes the South Bend Tribune:

Kernan said intermodals can be strong economic development engines, creating jobs while also reducing tractor-trailer traffic on roads and highways. He said northwestern Indiana is an ideal place for such a project.

"Its proximity to Chicago and multiple railroad lines that connect to Chicago gives it the opportunity for the right kind of facility to be created," he said.

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