NE Iowa News

The federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) has approved a controversial $31 million merger between the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Kansas City Railway to create the first transcontinental railroad that runs from Canada into Mexico.

The merged railway company's headquarters will be in Calgary, Alberta, with U.S. headquarters in Kansas City, Mo.; Trains.com reported this week. The merger is effective April 14 and will affect much of the Chicago area and areas along the Mississippi. The board said the decision was made due to an expected increase in railroad competition, adding that the merged railways will still be one of the smallest of its kind (Class I) and will also remove tens of thousands of truckload shipments from roads each year.

Communities along the route have expressed opposition to the merger, fearing the impact of greater traffic and environmental risks associated with a busier railroad line, Trains.com said in November 2021. Several state representatives from around the nation had asked for delays in the decision after the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, so that they could create better safety systems and also perform more in-depth environmental impact studies. Some towns in Iowa expect to see a massive increase in rail traffic—as much as triple the previous amount—and many will not have crossing alternatives. There are almost 30 crossings in Iowa that do not have alternate routes within two miles, and seven of those are all in the town of Camanche, which is cut in half by the railroad, separating some citizens from any emergency services on the other side of town.

The planned routes will run from Vancouver through much of Canada into North Dakota, Minnesota and into Milwaukee, where it will run through the Chicago area before heading west along eastern Iowa into Kansas City. Some lines will also run from Toronto into Detroit and along the southern Michigan border before entering Chicago. From Kansas City, the rail lines will run south along the Mississippi River and southeastern Texas before entering Mexico. The connection also allows for the possibility of Amtrak passenger trains running from Canada to Mexico in the future.

The STB held its first-ever press conference this week to explain its rationale behind the merger, a news release from the board said. Chairman Martin Oberman said that the STB wanted to be as transparent and honest as possible while offering its explanation, adding that the board remains committed to protecting the interests and welfare of all U.S. citizens. He also elaborated on several safety factors that were imposed on the merger prior to its approval.

"I want to talk about safety and the environment for a moment," Oberman said in the press conference. "It’s no secret, and we are well aware of the very real and legitimate public concern over rail safety. It’s always been there but certainly has come to the fore as a result of the derailment in East Palestine. And we’ve heard, from many people, members of Congress, concerned citizens, and people fearful for their own neighborhoods. Now, in fact, it is a routine part of the board’s consideration of rail acquisition to review the safety aspects of the transaction. So we were already well underway in reviewing, documenting and measuring what the safety aspects of the transaction are.

"If there is a problem in this country about the safe transportation of hazardous materials on rail—and there is some problem obviously—safety can and always must be improved, and zero accidents should be what we strive for. It is a problem nationwide. It is not a problem caused by or resulting from this merger. In fact, to the extent hazardous materials can be moved on rail as opposed to highways, we are better off the more traffic that can be moved to rail."