$31 billion railroad merger has Illinois lawmakers concerned

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. - A controversial $31 billion merger between Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern has lawmakers concerned.

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin was in Schaumburg on Tuesday speaking out about the proposal.

The move could add up to 14 freight trains per day to Metra's Milwaukee line that runs from Elgin to Bensenville. It is under review by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board.

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Durbin said there are concerns over how running so many trains will increase rail traffic and could impact various neighborhoods.

Opponents have expressed concerns about the noise pollution and environmental impact. They also say extremely long trains will clog traffic and block crossings.

Durbin said he isn't opposed to the merger, but more impact studies should be done.

"We want to see is a statement which really gets into the Chicagoland area and measures the impact on lives in this area. And we're not really saying that it's impossible to do this merger. It could be that building some rail facilities west of the metropolitan area will solve the problems. We're ready to work with the Canadian Pacific and the other railroad to do that," Durbin said.

If the merger goes through, it would become a rail line directly linking Canada and Mexico.