A U.S. appeals court will not force a federal regulatory agency to speed up its decision on Canadian National Railway’s proposed purchase of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway.

In a ruling issued Monday, a panel of three judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington said such an order would be “an extraordinary remedy, to be reserved for extraordinary situations.” The railway’s request does not qualify, the judges ruled.

CN officials made the request to the court in September. The railway hoped to force the Surface Transportation Board to make its decision before the end of the year because the EJ&E’s current owner, U.S. Steel Corp., has said it will not extend the purchase agreement beyond Dec. 31.

In a statement released following the court’s ruling, E. Hunter Harrison, CN’s president and chief executive officer, urged the transportation board to make a speedy ruling.

“While CN is disappointed with the court’s decision, we remain committed to the EJ&E acquisition and we see no reason why the STB cannot rule on the transaction quickly to permit it to close by year-end,” Harrison said. “It is now up to the STB to do the right thing, to preserve an important transaction with broad transportation and other public benefits for the Chicago region and the nation.”

The railway and its supporters contend that purchasing the little-used rail line will reduce freight-train congestion by allowing some trains to bypass the overcrowded rails leading into Chicago. Those supporters include many local leaders in west suburban Cook County.

Many local leaders in DuPage County and other suburban areas argue that the acquisition would dramatically increase train traffic along the EJ&E tracks and negatively effect communities through which the line runs.

DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom has opposed the sale from the start.
“It is a good decision on the part of the court,” Schillerstrom said.

It is important that all the environmental and transportation impacts of the purchase be evaluated before the Surface Transportation Board makes its decision, he said.

“I think it’s pretty clear that (CN is) just not getting it,” Schillerstrom said. “If they want to buy it, they have to follow the existing laws. They’re not above the law.”

The EJ&E runs in an arc from Waukegan to Joliet to northwest Indiana.