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Moving on
down the track
This is my last column. By the time you read
this I will have retired June 27. Tammy Nicholson will serve
as the
Office
of Rail Transportation director, and I welcome her to a
great office and a great job!
I started with the Iowa DOT in September 1980,
just one month before the Stagger’s Act was passed by Congress
to deregulate the railroad industry. I have had the privilege
of working with Iowa DOT’s rail programs for 28 years, and it
has been an exciting ride. For many years, I was the manager
of the rail assistance program that provided state and federal
assistance to upgrade branch lines. There are many track miles
still in operation in the state that would not be here now if
state leaders had not had the foresight and courage to assist
private railroad companies.
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
(Rock Island) and Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
(Milwaukee Road) were both in bankruptcy, and during the first
few years we were consumed with working through issues of their
liquidation and downsizing. The railroads have all worked hard
to upgrade their physical infrastructure and compete for business
in a changing world. The Iowa railroads (at least before this
month’s flooding – more on that in a later article) are in the
best physical condition they have been in for 30 years, and
they are making money. Of course, making money leads to more
investment in track and equipment needs.
Since I became the office director in 2001,
we have worked to advocate for the importance of the rail transportation
system to citizens and businesses of Iowa. We have created a
Web site (iowarail.com),
developed this digital newsletter, developed and hosted a joint
conference with the Iowa Department of Economic Development
on the connections between transportation and economic development,
and successfully sought state funding for a program to assist
in the cost of building rail connections for companies that
are creating jobs in Iowa. We have assisted the railroads in
maintaining safe crossings by installing signal-warning devices,
rebuilding hundreds of crossing surfaces for a safer and smoother
ride in your vehicle, and increased track safety by employing
two inspectors to monitor the 4,100 miles of track in Iowa.
I could not have imagined I would end my time
here witnessing the damage and destruction done by the 2008
Iowa floods. As I write this, the flooding is not over and damage
assessments are still coming in, but it is apparent the 2008
damages to the railroads far exceed that of 1993. The damage
to Iowa's railroads will negatively impact Iowa businesses and
farmers for months to come. I have retrieved my files on the
1993 flood relief provided by Congress to Iowa railroads and
hope disaster relief funding is available again in 2008.
Farewell –
Peggy Baer
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Flooding devastates rail infrastructure
Rushing flood waters have dealt Iowa's railroad
infrastructure a blow with 14 bridges washed out or severely
damaged, submerged track covered with mud and debris, and miles
of washouts. The full impact is yet to be discovered as bridges
continue to be assessed and repairs under way. Repairs are not
yet complete, but the total damage to Iowa rail infrastructure
is estimated to be at least $80 million.
Nearly every railroad that has track in the
southern or eastern part of Iowa suffered some damage (11 of
Iowa's 20 railroads). The extent of the infrastructure damage
is significant. Maybe even more damaging, but more difficult
to quantify, are the railroads’ lost revenues and the impact
on rail shippers. Railroads lost shipments to alternative transportation
during service suspensions and closure of impacted shipping
facilities. Rail detours, necessitated by bridge or track damage,
increased the railroads’ operating costs and delays shipments.
All of these disruptions have significant economic impacts on
the railroads, their shippers and eventual consumers.
Just a few examples of the flooding damage and
impacts:
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Iowa Interstate
Railroad's (IAIS) operations were essentially
at a standstill for about 10 days. When the floodgates
were shut in Des Moines, IAIS was cut in two. Some
of the most serious damage was near Atalissa where
about a mile of track was washed out, some as deep
as 10-12 feet.
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Iowa Chicago &
Eastern Railroad (IC&E) and
Canadian National (CN) each lost a bridge early
in the flooding and had shutdowns of five to 10
days on parts of their line. In July, a garage-sized
boulder fell on DM&E’s tracks near Guttenberg. A
train struck the boulder and derailed, plunging
four locomotives into the water.
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Amtrak suspended
service for nearly three weeks on the California
Zephyr, which travels the width of southern Iowa,
and for nearly as long on the Southwest Chief that
passes through Fort Madison, disrupting travel plans
for many Iowans and non-Iowans.
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For perspective, during a normal nine-day period,
Union Pacific Railroad's main east-west rail line through Iowa
transports roughly 6.6 million tons of freight – the equivalent
of approximately 252,000 semi-trailer loads of freight. That
freight had to be delayed, rerouted or shipped via alternate
transportation when the rail line shut down due to flooding.
With similar effects throughout the rail transportation system
in Iowa, the ability to reroute traffic was difficult and disruption
to shippers significant.
Railroads are eligible to apply for emergency
funds to repair or replace safety signals, however, the bulk
of the repairs must come from revenues, grants or loans. In
1993, a special federal appropriation provided $21 million for
Midwestern states affected by flooding, with Iowa receiving
a $5.8 million share. With the loss of major bridges and more
extensive damage in 2008, the Iowa DOT will support Iowa’s railroads
in seeking federal and state funding to help restore Iowa's
rail transportation system to a healthy and safe condition.
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Moving
Iowa Forward Conference
An enthusiastic audience once again attended
the Moving Iowa Forward Conference, cosponsored by the Iowa
departments of Economic Development and Transportation this
past April.
A conference highlight was an address by Matthew
Rose, chairman, president and chief executive officer of the
Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Corporation, and member
of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study
Commission. Rose spoke about future growth projections for transportation,
the importance of capacity improvements and how congestion would
affect nearly every region of the country. The national funding
gap for transportation to improve capacity is $107 billion per
year through 2015, and $50 billion per year just to maintain
the current system. Increased funding from all sources - federal,
local, state, and private - is needed to meet transportation
demands.
Mark your calendars now for April 8, 2009, to
attend next year's event.
For more information on this past year's conference.
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Community connections
In the past, during an era when many Iowa communities
had a rail depot, a rail yard and/or rail personnel living in
town, the railroad was an important part of the community. Today,
towns do not always see railroads as part of their community,
but some railroads are working to change that.
BNSF Railway
BNSF has a program called “Citizens for Rail Security.”
This program encourages community members and rail fans to share
information about activities occurring around the railroad's
property. With only 186 police officers for their entire 32,000
miles of track in 28 states and two Canadian provinces (essentially
a 100-foot wide privately owned transportation corridor), BNSF's
rail system is impossible to police on a daily basis.
BNSF asks community members to register in the
"Citizens for Rail Security" program. The program emphasizes
the need to report irregular activity, helps identify what to
report and why, and provides safety rules to follow. BNSF uses
the information to help keep their system safe and secure. To
learn more about the program, or join their “team,” visit
the
Citizens for Rail Security web site. There is also a special component
of the program for local police officers who work more intensively
with BNSF to increase community safety.
Union Pacific Railroad (UP)
The UP recently reorganized their Government Affairs
Office and has renewed focus on community involvement. Brenda
Mainwaring, Iowa's government affairs representative, has visited
many cities and counties since she started in October 2007.
Mainwaring serves as a go-to person for community officials.
Ms. Mainwaring says, “The key is to proactively make ourselves
a part of the community. We impact communities in a number of
ways, and we had increasingly failed in being a part of the
community.” She has fielded a number of issues that relate to
the railroad’s presence, but are not necessarily related to
running trains. For example, the recent flooding in Iowa caused
a number of trains to be rerouted through the Twin Cities and
to Omaha via Sheldon, LeMars and Sioux City. Ms. Mainwaring
called to alert these Iowa communities to potential increased
train traffic. “We’re seeing communities using us as a resource
in ways we didn’t anticipate.”
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Access Rail
During the 2008 legislative session, the Iowa General
Assembly passed a $2 million appropriation for the Railroad
Revolving Loan and Grant Program. The program provides loans
and grants to assist Iowa railroads and industry with rail infrastructure.
Thanks to advocates of the Access Rail initiative that supports
funding to maintain and build a strong and vital rail transportation
system.
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Railroads' generosity
Each year the Iowa DOT sponsors a statewide
food drive to benefit local food pantries. One of the major
fundraisers in the week-long event is a silent auction of donated
items. This year, the railroads in Iowa were asked for donations,
and did they ever deliver – jackets, coolers, models, and much,
much more. Gift baskets of railroad branded merchandise were
assembled that yielded more than $400 for the food drive. Thanks
to those railroads that participated to help those less fortunate.
Total employee contributions to the food drive exceeded $12,000.
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Moving
billboards for rail safety
Recently, a city bus with a unique message
was seen in Ames.
Iowa Operation
Lifesaver (OL), the Iowa chapter of the national rail safety
organization that partners with railroads operating in Iowa,
purchased ad space on local CyRide buses in Ames promoting rail
safety.
“This is just another method for Iowa OL to
get the safety message – ‘Look. Listen. Live.’ – out to the
public whether they are on the bus, in their car or on foot,”
said Francis Edeker, Iowa OL president. "Similar community campaigns
have been in place in Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Dubuque, and Waterloo.
The community campaigns are scheduled for February through July
2008 and may be extended to the end of the year.”
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Rail safety awards
The E.H. Harriman Memorial Awards Selection
Committee presented its top Gold Award to Iowa Interstate Railroad
in recognition of its excellent safety record in 2007. President
and CEO Dennis Miller commented, "Our company completed almost
400,000 hours of safe activity in 2007, and I am very honored
to accept this award on behalf of our employees for the second
time in the past four years." In 2003, Iowa Interstate completed
a full year with zero injuries.
The
American Short
Line and Regional Railroad Association annually honors railroads
for their safety records. Iowa railroads recognized in 2008
were: Burlington Junction Railway, D & I Railroad Co.,
Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Railway Co., and Iowa Interstate Railroad,
Ltd.
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