By Railfan & Railroad Staff

WASHINGTON — A draft Environmental Impact Statement released last week by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board stated that the proposed Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern merger would have little impact on the environment. The draft, which was released on Friday, is welcome news for CP and KCS officials waiting to see if the federal agency gives the high green to the largest proposed railroad merger in a generation. 

The STB announced last year that it would require an EIS before giving its approval for the merger. The STB said it wanted an environmental impact statement because CP and KCS officials have said the merger will result in a major increase in rail traffic, especially in the Midwest. The railroads have said the merger would actually be good for the environment because it would take tens of thousands of trucks off the highways, thus reducing pollution. As part of its review, the STB worked with state, local and tribal officials along CP and KCS lines. The draft EIS found that the merger would result in “only minor adverse impacts” to freight rail safety. Specifically, because the merger would result in increased rail traffic, the chance for a train derailment will also increase. Similar conclusions were found related to grade crossing safety, noise, air quality and more. 

The STB stated that it was mostly focused on CP and KCS lines between Chicago and Laredo, Tex., where CPKC expects to run eight to 14 additional trains per day. 

Now that the EIS is out, the public and stakeholders will be able to submit comments that will be addressed in the final version. Once the final version is out the STB will either approve or deny the merger.