Dupage Policy Journal

Dave Kaptain, Mayor of Elgin, Illinois, recently joined other mayors to create a coalition to oppose the Canadian Pacific - Kansas City railroad merger.

"If you overlay what you saw in Ohio, and looked at those freight cars, many of those freight cars would be in the Fox River, and that would affect water quality from Elgin to the Illinois River," Kaptain said, according to an ABC 7 Chicago report.

For more than a year communities across DuPage County have voiced their concerns about the merger, which would cost several billion dollars, according to 12 News Now.

The Board of Surface Transportation recently released an environmental report regarding the proposed merger that stated: “the number of hazardous material releases would remain low along rail lines and at rail yards.”

However, after the train derailment catastrophe in East Palestine, Ohio, more and more communities, legislatures, and organizations have spoken out against the merger.

At least eight different mayors and communities in Western DuPage County have created the Stop CPKC Coalition to oppose the merger and lobby for their communities.

Their concerns are increased traffic, the potential blocking of emergency services and regular traffic flow, decreased competition in the railroad industry, noise pollution, as well as the risk of a hazardous incident like the one in East Palestine.  

"We're saying to the federal government, 'You need to do better, because we don't want a Palestine here in our community," Stop CPKC Coalition Chairperson, Carie Anne Ergo, told ABC 7.

If the merger is approved, trains would travel from Canada to Mexico, and many trains could be used to transport large amounts of oil, according to Yahoo News. The Justice Department also recently suggested the Surface Transportation Board “consider the competition impacts of further consolidation” as “competition in this critical infrastructure is essential.”

Toxic Train Tours have taken place in Texas, as well as similar events in other states to showcase the potential dangers of the merger.

Terry Hadley, a tour participant, and Texas resident voiced his concerns about the potential for increased risk to his family should the merger be approved.

“We don't have a plan of action in place and so if a train would derail, I wouldn't know the first thing that I need to do to protect my family from any hazardous chemicals on the train," Hadley said.