River Bend Times

Many communities across the riverbend area continue to oppose a major railroad merger, with some additional support in the wake of the recent train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

"We have concerns," said Molly Newell, a business owner in Davenport, in a story by WQAD. "We have concerns about the environment, the safety and health of those people that are injured [and] that had to be evacuated. We have concerns about the first responders [and] we have concerns about the lingering vapors in the air from the vinyl chloride."

Many communities along the proposed route of the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City railroad merger have spoken out in opposition to the $31 billion merger for more than a year, a recent 12News report said. With the Board of Surface Transportation releasing its environmental study findings at the beginning of February with no major concerns or potential issues found, many people were anxious to hear if the merger would be approved. That was, however, before the train derailment catastrophe on Feb. 3 in East Palestine that spilled toxic chemicals in the area. Since then, increasing numbers of communities, legislatures and organizations have stepped up in opposition to the merger.

Many small rural towns along the Mississippi River would be affected by the merger, and some Iowa towns could have roads blocked up to 20 times a day with no alternative crossing points for miles, WQAD said. There are seven such crossings in Camanche, and most of its major streets would be blocked by the trains coming through town, cutting off emergency services and first responders from half of the residents. Other concerns include increased traffic through towns, noise pollution, chemical contaminants and the issue of decreased competition in the railroad industry. The trains, which would run from Canada to Mexico, will carry a large amount of oil, a potentially disastrous spill for communities along the Mississippi.

The Board of Surface Transportation has not yet made its final decision, likely due to the East Palestine spill, a recent Yahoo News report said. The Justice Department has not directly spoken against the merger, but it has been cautious about approving the merger with comments from its antitrust department. 

There are also "Toxic Train Tours" in Texas to showcase the dangerous way chemicals would be transported through small towns such as East Palestine, 12News reported.