WINONA, Minn. – Train traffic through Winona on tthe new CPKC transcontinental rail system can be expected to grow 35%, This according to documents the Canadian Pacific filed with federal regulatory authorities. The figures are cited by Pam Eyden in a Big River magazine article on the merger’s impact. The railroad’s own data says that the CPKC’s Minneapolis to LaCrescent segment now averages 17 trains a day and will increase to 23 in 2027. There was a time when the Mississippi west-bank route carried 40 trains a day, but those trains were much shorter than today’s consists, some three miles long with multiple lead locomotives up front with a two-person crew and remote-controlled locomotive at mid-train and the rear. Critics of the merger have pointed out that the risk of catastrophic derailments and hazardous spills has increased exponentially. These trains connect CP’s existing trans-Canada routes to Mexico ports that the now-merged Kansas City Southern railroad served on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.
Merged railroads. What impact?
More and longer trains
The number of trains is expected to double through some towns on the Upper Mississippi. These CP data compare 2023 to 2027:
> South St. Paul to Red Wing, Wabasha, Winona and LaCrescent: From 17 a day to 23.
> Lansing to Marquette and McGregor: From 5 to 11.
> Guttenberg to Dubuque and Bellevue: From 12 to 18.
> Sabula to Clinton: From 11 to 25.
> Mucatine: From 6 to 21.
Speed limits
The top speed allowed by federal agencies on Class 1 railroads generally is 72 miles an hour for freight trains, 79 for passenger trains. Larger towns with grade crossing generally impose stricter limits. In Winona it’s 30 mph. From Minnesota City to Homer there are 17 mainline crossings – at t69h Street, 54th, 41st, Bierce, West Fifth, West Broadway, West Wabasha, South Baker, Sioux, Grand, Huff, Main, Franklin, Hamilton, Mankato, Louisa and Ann. At these crossings, street traffic stops, the trans-con trains don’t.
Good ‘ol days?
Winona once was a bustling railroad hub with five railroads and dozens and dozens street crossings. It was a grim joke you couldn’t get anywhere in town without being stopped by a train. Over the years, most crossings have been barricaded and street traffic diverted to thoroughfares. Spectators at Winona Teachers College football games could count on four or five trains passing the field every game. Play stopped until the smoky and noisy distractions passed, then resumed.
Major railroads today. Canadian Pacific Kanas City (formerly CP, Soo and Milwaukee). The Union Pacific has trackage rights from LaCrosse for one train a day each way.
Back then: Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific; Chicago & Northwestern, Green Bay & Western, Winona & St. Peter; and Winona & Southwestern.