Chicago Metropolis 2020 Releases Study on Economic Benefits of Proposed of EJ&E Railroad by Canadian National
The Canadian National Railway’s plan to divert freight trains to a suburban rail line would ease the freight traffic gridlock in northeastern Illinois and spur a growth of $267 million in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, including more than $60 million in the Chicago region’s Gross Regional Product.
A study released by Chicago Metropolis 2020 on December 3, 2008 projects the pending purchase of the EJ&E Railway by the CN could create 649 net new jobs in the region with total new annual salaries of $39 million and a growth in annual sales in the region of more than $160 million.
The study was conducted by the Economic Development Research Group, a Boston consulting firm using state-of-the-art tools to evaluate the economic impact of infrastructure projects, and Carl Martland, a freight consultant and senior research associate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Read the press release 
Download a summary of the report's findings
Download the full report
Download two appendices to the full report (with additional technical details)