Washington District of Columbia USA - A final report on the impact of the proposed rail merger resembles the draft, concluding that, apart from noise, the impact will be negligible, temporary, and minor.
 
The new report, released by the Office of Environmental Analysis, recommends the deciding body, the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB), require Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern to abide by settlement agreements with Quad-Cities communities.
 
It also recommends the rail companies be required to undertake mitigation efforts in the suburbs of Chicago.
 
A decision is expected in this quarter on whether the STB approves the merger.
 
With the release of the final impact statement late last week, that decision is expected to come soon.
 
The Office of Environmental Analysis released its draft report this summer, and conducted a series of public input meetings, including in Davenport, and allowed online comments on the merger.
 
The two rail companies are hoping to merge to form the first single-line rail system connecting Mexico to Canada, which would include 8,600 miles of track in the U.S.
 
Along a stretch of track between Sabula, Iowa, and Kansas City Missouri, the train traffic is expected to increase the most, nearly tripling.
 
What it Said
 
The final report found that most potential adverse impacts of the merger, including crossing delays and emergency vehicle response times, would be "negligible, minor, and/or temporary."
 
On average, the report found, the merger would delay vehicles at 276 evaluated crossings by 0.7 seconds because of the additional train traffic, with the greatest average increase in delay for any grade crossing at 7.3 seconds per vehicle, at Ripley Street in Davenport, Iowa.
 
The Office of Environmental Analysis strengthened its language on noise impacts, writing that the noise caused by increased train traffic would be unavoidable and "would result in adverse impacts on many residences and other locations that are sensitive to noise."
 
Scott County has the greatest number of these noise-sensitive locations, such as homes, hospitals, and schools.
 
The county would have 1,016 such locations that would see noise impact from train traffic, compared to 593 without the merger.
 
In putting together its final report, the Office of Environmental Analysis said it conducted site evaluations to observe current conditions in several cities in Iowa, including Camanche, Davenport, Muscatine, Fredonia/Columbus Junction, and Clinton.
 
CP agreed to settlements with several cities that would face the highest increase in train traffic, and the report recommends the STB require the new rail company hold to those agreements.
 
Davenport settled for as much as US$10 million to address its concerns about access to the riverfront and noise in exchange for not commenting to the federal transportation authority.
 
Bettendorf (US$3 million), Muscatine (US$3 million), and LeClaire (US$750,000) also agreed to settle.
 
The report recommends the board require rail companies to make good on its offer to put in quiet zones and crossing-alert systems in nine communities in the suburbs of Chicago that banded together in a vocal coalition opposing the merger.
 
At 73 Crossings Services Could be Adversely Affected
 
Although the report said the impact on emergency services from the merger all across the route would be negligible, temporary, or minor, the office identified 73 crossings that do not have an alternate route for emergency services, because they lead to dead-end streets.
 
Cities in Iowa with those dead-end crossings include, Bettendorf, Buffalo, Camanche, Clinton, Davenport, Fredonia, Le Claire, Muscatine, Pleasant Valley, Princeton, Riverdale, Sabula, and Seymour.
 
"In the unlikely event that a train could become stopped in a position where it blocks those grade crossings for an extended period of time during an emergency situation, emergency services could be adversely affected," the report states.
 
Historic Properties
 
The final report found the merger would have no adverse effects on historic properties, despite claims from some detractors that the additional train traffic could destabilize historic buildings' foundations.
 
Sarah Watson.