Comment EI-32535
Received or sent (printed as 10/14/2022)
Arconic Corporation and its employees at the Davenport Works plant will be negatively impacted by the proposed merger of the Canadian Pacific and the Kansas City Southern if there are not sufficient mitigation measures taken. Arconic manufactures aluminum products for the automotive, aerospace, industrial, and building & construction markets. Of the company’s ~7,000 employees in the United States, we have nearly 2,500 employees in the Quad Cities. Currently, an average of seven trains per day pass our facility and block inbound/outbound traffic for up to 15 minutes at a time. CP expects the number of trains passing the plant to increase to 21 per day – a threefold increase. With trains that are 2+ plus miles long (compared to the current 1 mile-long trains), we also expect the traffic stops will be longer. Our biggest concern is for the safety of our employees. This change will require employees to leave for work earlier and perhaps be blocked in the facility longer during regular operations of these longer and more frequent trains. Worker safety is a top priority for Arconic – but if there is an injury that requires immediate medical attention when the tracks are blocked, we could lose precious minutes waiting for the tracks to clear. In addition to safety concerns, the increase in trains passing could cause delays in our outbound shipments. We also rely on timely inbound shipments of raw materials and supplies to keep our facility operating 24/7 – and we are concerned that the significant increase in trains on the line will make it difficult to have the necessary 75 railcars weekly delivered to Davenport Works. If the promised railcars are not delivered to our plant, supplies will be delayed – and we’ll miss deadlines to our customers. On behalf of our employees and our customers we ask you to reject the proposed merger or ensure adequate mitigation is taken to address the issues that the merger will cause for Arconic operations in Riverdale, Iowa.
Submitted by: Steven Jennings · Arconic Davenport Works · Bettendorf, IA
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-32535 · back to the docket sheet