Democrat Mike Franken opposes proposed merger of 2 rail companies

LECLAIRE — Some people say all politics is local.

And the prospect of a merger between two North American rail companies has been an issue to the residents and business owners along the Mississippi riverfront railroad tracks in Scott County.

"I see no positive aspect for the state of Iowa whatsoever" in the proposed merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, Franken said during a Thursday stop at the Crane & Pelican Cafe in LeClaire.

"These trains don’t stop here, they don't move Iowa commodities. … Iowa is a pass-through. We are known as a flyover. Now we’re a rail-over. We need to stop this because it’s not good for the future of the state of Iowa.“

The two rail companies want to merge and create a single-line rail system connecting Mexico through the U.S. to Canada. Eastern Iowa would shoulder the brunt of additional train traffic as a result of the proposed deal.

Resident concerns about the merger include more train traffic that could block access for emergency responders and bring increased noise and chances of a derailment and hazardous spills.

Franken, who's running against longtime U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, criticized the handling of the merger by the federal Surface Transportation Board, which he said was underfunded to fully evaluate the proposal.

A report, released in August, found the merger would have "negligible" effects, save for increased noise in some areas.

"Let’s look at the process associated with how this was done, and let’s rectify the process so it’s not replicated elsewhere where cities have been divided up and conquered with a checkbook.”

Franken also called for a "new and improved" rail transportation system in the U.S. with a greater investment in electric, high-speed rail systems that don't run through the center of small towns.

A Grassley spokesperson previously told a reporter the senator and his staff are "closely monitoring these discussions and listening to Iowans who would be impacted" and continue facilitating conversations between Iowans and the Surface Transportation Board.

Rail merger

On the advice of federal transportation officials, Davenport, Bettendorf, Muscatine and LeClaire officials approved settlement agreements with Canadian Pacific concerning the merger. In some cases, the cities will get millions of dollars if the merger is approved — in exchange for not commenting further on the proposed merger.

In Davenport, city officials said the settlement money would pay for mitigation efforts to handle the increased number of trains.

The rail companies have said they expect the amount of train traffic to triple between Kansas City and Sabula, Iowa, in Jackson County. About eight trains pass along those tracks today; that would increase to about 22 trains by 2027.

It might be a niche issue, but for Princeton resident Ann Geiger, Franken's interest is one reason she's planning to vote for him.

A lifelong Republican, Geiger said she's only voted for two statewide Democrats — Tom Vilsack and Harold Hughes, who became Iowa governors. But her attitude changed, she said, with the rise of Donald Trump, especially when he questioned and attempted to subvert the results of the 2020 election.

"It's terrifying that one individual can nearly topple democracy," Geiger said.

Davenport stop

At a campaign rally later that evening at the River Center in Davenport, Franken told a group of roughly 70 people he would put "country over party," support abortion access, continue Congress' support for Ukraine and push for investments in public education and job training.

A recent Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll showed Franken within 3 percentage points of Grassley. Republicans called the poll an outlier, pointing to other polls that show Grassley with a more substantial lead.

Comments: swatson@qctimes.com