Four members from Illinois' congressional caucus — Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Schaumburg) and Delia Ramirez (D-Chicago) — are asking for a delay in a planned merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern freight railroads in the wake of the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment in Ohio.
In a letter addressed to Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin Oberman — who also was alderman of Chicago's 43rd Ward from 1975 through 1987 and served on Metra's board — the four lawmakers say they're seeking the delay to allow further review of what hazardous materials would be moved through the Chicago region and what safety protocols are currently in place in the event of a derailment similar to the one that occurred in East Palastine, Ohio.
The Feb. 23 letter asks the STB to hit pause "until it thoroughly reviews the increased transportation of hazardous materials that would result from the merger."
The group points to a history of derailments from the involved rail companies, noting, "CP and KCS both have histories of train derailments causing hazardous material spills, and any increases in the amount of hazardous materials transported as a result of the proposed merger would put communities across the country at greater risk of a dangerous incident."
The lawmakers add: "We are concerned that this increase puts CP’s Central Corridor, which passes through Chicago, Illinois, particularly at risk since the route transports intermodal containers carrying fertilizers, crude oil, and chemicals from the Port of Vancouver. The (environmental impact statement) estimates that the proposed merger would cause almost 11,000 additional carloads of hazardous materials to be transported along the Metra line that runs from Elgin to Bensenville on the route to downtown Chicago and serves thousands of residents."
While Kansas City Southern doesn't currently own rail lines through the area, Canadian Pacific operates and uses lines throughout the area and Northern Illinois and, additionally, operates on some Metra tracks. It also runs an intermodal terminal in Bensenville and a container yard in Schiller Park.
It's the second letter within a week sent from the group of lawmakers to Oberman. On Feb. 17, they similarly requested a delay in the merger vote. In that letter, the lawmakers cited the negative impact the merger would have on Metra due to dramatically increased freight traffic on shared rail lines.
An impact study used as part of the merger proposal, the group then-wrote, "relied only on data provided by CP and ignored more comprehensive modeling provided by Metra, the Chicago region’s commuter railroad whose tracks CP operates on."
The Chicago area isn't the only region expressing concern about the merger in the wake of the Ohio derailment. Residents from Davenport, Iowa to the Houston metro area have given pause about elevated freight traffic and hazardous materials to be hauled through their towns.
The railroad merger was originally agreed to in 2021 and has been winding its way through regulatory hurdles ever since. Even in the days leading up to the Ohio derailment, the Department of Justice wrote that it was still skeptical of the merger on antitrust grounds.
Additionally, the Railroad Workers United union released a statement calling for nationalizing the country's railroads following the Ohio derailment. "Since the North American private rail industry has shown itself incapable of doing the job, it is time for this invaluable transportation infrastructure – like the other transport modes – to be brought under public ownership," the union said.
