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.