U.S. Sen. Harkin says more than $3 million to aid Iowa’s small railroads

Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said that a total of $3,009,763 will be coming to Iowa to cover the cost of repairing damage to some of Iowa's smaller railroads sustained during 2008's historic storms and floods. The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Railroad Administration, and was initially appropriated in the 2008 Disaster Appropriations bill. Harkin is a senior member of the Appropriations subcommittee that funds transportation initiatives.

"The historic flooding
that hit our state did real damage to our rail infrastructure, slowing the
transport of goods between communities and suppressing commerce," Harkin said. "Repairing
Iowa’s small railroads helps our economy and keeps Iowa vibrant. And this much
needed funding goes directly to our local markets, helping families and local
economies maintain a crucial freight rail transportation system."

The Iowa Department of
Transportation will receive $2,236,410 for flood damage restoration for the
Iowa Northern Railway Company. The funding will be used for the removal of
flood debris from the rail right-of-way; the replacement of ballast, crossties,
plates and rail anchors; the replacement of base material under track
structure; the surfacing by tamping and regulating to raise and align the
track; the replacement of the flood compromised bridge at milepost 125.1 and
the cleaning and reshaping of existing ditch cuts, where appropriate, to improve
drainage and moderate the impact of high waters on track structure. The IANR
operates 163 miles of main track from Cedar Rapids northwesterly to Manly with
approximately $19 million in annual operating revenues. Damage was done to
tracks in Linn, Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Butler, Floyd, Cerro Gordo and
Worth counties.

IA DOT will receive
$44,771 for flood damage restoration for the Burlington Junction Railway. The
funding is for the cost of removing a layer of mud, silt and debris from
flooded stretch of track; to replace tons of ballast along the mainline and
siding track; to tamp in ballast and regulate track; and to repair track where
it was torn out. The BJRY is a small railroad operating in Des Moines County.

IA DOT will receive
$162,182 for flood damage restoration for the Iowa River Railroad. The funding
is for the cost of rehabilitating the mainline, including siding track, on the
IARR. This grant covers the cost of removing a layer of mud and debris from
track, to replace ballast along the mainline and siding tracks, to tamp and
regulate, to raise track and to repair bridges. IARR is a startup railroad that
has been in operation since 2006. Damage was done to tracks in Hardin and
Marshall counties.

IA DOT will receive
$566,400 for flood damage restoration for the Iowa Interstate Railroad. The
funding is for the rebuilding of roadbed and raising track by replacing washed away
ballast (about 33,000 tons), tamping and regulating and replacing ties and
anchors, where necessary. The IAIS primarily operates from Council Bluffs to
Blue Island, Ill., and from Bureau, Ill., to Peoria, Ill., (including trackage
rights). Tracks were damaged in Muscatine, Jasper, Cass, Adair, Polk, Dallas,
Iowa, Pottawattamie and Poweshiek counties.