Rail vital part of the transportation system in Iowa

BUTLER COUNTY - Snow drifts, frigid temperatures and cutting winds hardly slowed a Carhartt-clad Dave Reed of Iowa Northern Railway on Monday as he chipped ice from tracks No. 9 and 10 in their expanding rail yard northwest of Shell Rock.

Reed, who was running the ballast regulator, and a colleague, who was operating a tamper, were hustling to pack freshly dumped gravel and level new rails so they are operational before the weather gets much worse.

The additional tracks will increase capacity at Butler Logistics Park and also spur off directly to fertilizer and animal feed plants that export around the country.

'An extra mile and half of tracks comes in handy,” Reed said.

The Butler Park is one example of an effort to more directly link industry with transportation, something some say is a challenge that restricts economic growth in Iowa.

Iowa Northern has invested millions in its rail yards in Butler and Manly to expand freight capacity as shipments have increased to 60,000 rail cars a year, up from 15,000 in 1994. The short line's President Dan Sabin said more strategic infrastructure investments in freight would help not only rail, but also trucking and Iowa manufacturers continue to grow.

State agencies see opportunities to optimize freight movement, too. The potential has sparked a partnership between transportation and economic development officials to create a strategy where transportation investments align with plans to grow the state economically.

‘A value proposition'

It is unlike any other around the nation, some say.

'We are working on a strategic road map like nothing else we've had before and like no other state does,” said Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

The Iowa Department of Transportation and the Iowa Economic Development Authority have been working for about a year on a freight optimization study that should be finished in first quarter of 2015, she said.

The study focuses on not only rails but trucking and barge traffic, via roadways and waterways, respectively. The goal is to identify freight transportation investment opportunities that would better connect freight between the different modes, reduce shipping costs for Iowa businesses and serve as a recruiting chip to bring new businesses to the state.

'Freight cost is a large part of the bottom line,” Durham said. 'If we can save 20 to 30 percent in shipping, it's a value proposition.”

Diane McCauley, a policy analyst with the Iowa DOT said transportation infrastructure is the No. 1 priority in site selection for prospective companies.

Some believe Iowa is well positioned to be better used as a hub for freight movement with its location in the middle of major metros, such as Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis and Kansas City.

Iowa has 18 railroads operating across 3,854 miles of tracks across the state.

On just rail alone, the state nearly has tripled the amount of freight originating, ending or passing through from 127 million tons to 332 million tons in the past 30 years. That's including a dip in recent years due to flood and drought.

'We see the rail system as an essential part of the transportation system in the state,” said Tamara Nicholson, Iowa rail transportation director. 'If we didn't have a strong rail system, it would all go on to the highways or wouldn't come here.

'We'd have more congestion and more wear on the roads.”

Tool kit

The Iowa DOT released an Iowa Rail Toolkit in October for freight rail users and economic development professional to showcase the opportunities in Iowa's rail network. A ton of freight can be moved on America's railroads 473 miles per gallon, on average, the tool kit states.

Iowa has challenges, though.

Manufacturers producing the freight are often far removed from export terminals. Also, Iowa exports much more than it consumes, which creates a counter balance where there isn't enough shipping containers for export.

It can cost $1,500 to $2,000 per container to bring them in from a hub, such as Chicago, Sabin said.

Sabin would like to see the state include an transportation hub in Northern Iowa as part of its road map.

Such a facility, which if built in Manly, would serve 7 million people within a 150-mile radius, he said. The hub would include a transmodal facility with equipment to move containers from rail to trucks or vice versa, and transloading facility that can fill containers.

'It would function as a regional enterprise in Northern Iowa, and it would create a container balance that would help get rates down,” Sabin said.

Others, have other priorities for optimizing freight.

'The challenges confronting freight movement is one of our key transportation challenges,” said Mike Steenhoek, executive director of Ankeny-based Soy Transportation Coalition.

He would like to see policy changes, such as allowing six-axle semis that can weigh up to 97,000 pounds on federal roadways - up from the current maximum of a five-axle semi weighing 80,000 pounds.

He also said the system for evaluating bridges so resources are devoted to those that are 'truly in need of repair” instead of those that are sufficient.

He also laments the deterioration of roads and bridges, as well as locks and dams on the Mississippi River that 'don't inspire much confidence.”

'If you don't have a transportation system, it really doesn't matter if you have the most fertile ground on the planet or innovative farmers,” Steenhoek said. 'You want be able to take part in the global market.”

The hope is that the freight optimization study opens up new opportunities for industries, transporters and Iowa, Durham said.

'This will be a case study to introduce new options into the marketplace and ask for a different marketplace,” she said.