Comment EI-32018
Received or sent (printed as 5/3/2022)
Please vote NO on the CP-KCS merger as it will significantly increase the number of trains running through Minnesota, causing real harm to communities. Each state along the line will see 20 more trains every month. In some rural communities, residents can expect to see 14.4 additional trains every day. High railroad activity often disrupts traffic, including first responders. On average, freight trains are longer than ever, posing challenges for emergency responders and other traffic. The average length of a CP train in 2021 was over 1.5 miles, a figure that could increase significantly after the merger. Railroads are an all-too-common obstacle for emergency workers. Elevated rail traffic has detrimental health effects. Consistent exposure to train vibrations and noise can create recurrent physical reactions, which over time can lead to adverse health conditions, such as cardiovascular diseases. Vibration caused by heavy rail traffic negatively impacts sleep patterns. Railroads drive down nearby property values. A residential property’s consistent exposure to 65 decibels or greater of railroad noise pollution reduces property values between 14% and 18%. Freight trains emit, on average, 85 decibels of sound. Increased railroad traffic is more likely to result in accidents and spills of potentially hazardous materials. Most of the new train cars on the rail will carry Canadian tar sands crude oil. A significant amount of new railroad traffic would contain ammonia, ethanol, and other explosive materials. In Minnesota in 2020, a CP train carrying crude oil derailed, spilling 20,000 to 30,000 gallons into the environment. CP trains have a recent history of dangerous derailments. In Quebec in 2013, a CP oil train exploded, killing 47 people. In Saskatchewan in 2020, a CP train crashed, spilling 400,000 gallons of oil. Also, in Saskatchewan in 2020, a CP train derailed and spilled oil.
Submitted by: Peggy Dimock · North Mankato, MN
The Board publishes this comment in its environmental-comment table for this proceeding. It is quoted here as printed; nothing is inferred from it, and it states the commenter's own position in their own words, not this record's.
Permanent address docketyard.org/d/FD-36500/comment/EI-32018 · back to the docket sheet