A federal agency has rejected an application by Great Lakes Basin Transportation, Inc. to build a railroad through northern Illinois from Wisconsin to Indiana.
The U.S.Surface Transportation Board said in its decision that the financial information provided by the backers of the proposed $8 billion Great Lakes Basin Railroad was "fundamentally flawed” and the company’s assets were “so clearly deficient” for the purpose that the board would not let it proceed.
The railroad was touted as a way to bypass Chicago’s rail congestion, but aroused fierce opposition from those along the proposed route, and no support from the railroad companies it was supposed to serve.