Mayo Clinic calls for longer review of CP rail acquisition
The Mayo Clinic called for a more thorough review of Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.'s acquisition of Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad late Thursday.
The non-profit health clinic is located in downtown Rochester, Minn. about 275 metres from the DM&E tracks. It has been locked in heated decade-long dispute to block DM&E’s expansion plans in the area.
Last month, CP said it would pick up the regional railway for at least US$1.48-billion, with an additional payment of US$1.05-billion contingent on whether it goes ahead with its expansion in the coal-rich region of the Powder River Basin.
It’s that expansion project that the Mayo Clinic is taking issue with, alleging it would lead to the upgrading of the tracks near the clinic, increasing the frequency of trains passing through the area from two trains a day to up to 43 at higher speeds.
Late yesterday, the Mayo Clinic asked the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to revise its proposed timetable for reviewing the CP’s acquisition of DM&E.
“Mayo Clinic does not object to DM&E being sold,” said Chris Gade, a Mayo Clinic spokesperson. “We are simply asking for a complete and thoughtful review of a transaction that may have a tremendous impact on our community and for the opportunity to have a constructive dialogue with the railroad’s new owners before the purchase is approved.”
The Mayo Clinic is asking for the STB to reconsider the procedural schedule associated with review of the transaction, because it alleges it "fails to provide sufficient tim
They will lose given the fact that the DM&E was a Class 2 regional RR and per the rules of the STB any RR merger with one RR having revenue under 250 Million a year the standard for a Class 1 the transaction is considered MINOR and not subject to MASSIVE REVIEW. Look how easy CN bought a stranglehold on Northern MN and WI by buying the DM&IR and the WC in the past few years they ran pretty much beside the DW&P up in northern MN and the WC for all intents had a Monoploy in WI around Green Bay so Mayo is just making noise here.
Did anyone think that just because CP bought the DME that this would all go away? Mayo didn’t have a problem with the DME, they had a problem with the fact that there was a railroad in the town close to their sainted halls, period. Rest assured, they will continue down the same shrill, pointless path that they have for the past 10 years with DME, then gradually come around to the conclusion that the CP is worse than the DME was, and that the city should impose something like a rail usage tax or some garbage like that which will drag out for another 10 years in the court system. Pretty soon you are going to see stories in the local media about how CP’s pres is just as inconsiderate, selfish, obstinate, and child-hating has Scheiffer. Then we’ll be back here in a year or two re-hashing the same DME v. Mayo argument except CP will be DME’s stand-in.
Face it, Mayo’s big beef is the fact that there are trains near their buildings. That is what they want to get rid of. They villified the DME to make their point (which they lost in the courts) and now they WILL villify CP to continue the battle. I’m calling it. Someone make a note of it this great Saturday, the 27th of October, at 8:28 AM.
I just suggest to the folks in Rochester that if they don’t like the coal trains passing thru town, turn off half your lights. (The nuke plants can make up the difference.)
The ironic thing is, the Mayo Clinic INTENTIONALY located near the railroad when it was built so its patients could get there easily for treatment. When you’re very sick, you don’t want to ride a horse for very long.
If there was an Amtrak station a football field away from their front door in Rochester, would they be complaining at all?[D)]
rrnut has hit the nail.I think this has happened many times.When the railroad was needed,for whatever purpose,anything would be done to get it .Today NIMBY.
It just never ceases to amaze me when someone complains about any railroad activity (vibration, horn, stopping traffic for 3 minutes, etc) that inconvienences their lives. It’s as if NIMBYs are escorted by real estate agents at 3 in the morning only to discover the tracks across the street on moving day. A visitor from Mars would think that American railroading was invented just last month and maliciously installed thru developed areas to taunt morons.
What fries me the most about this is upon the CP aquisition, Mayo talked a big talk about wanting a “fresh start” with CP in negotiating. And before any real discussions took place they pulled this stunt with the STB, rather than wait until negotiations fail. (Its pretty obvious that unless the outcome is “no coal trains through Rochester” the Mayo will not be happy.) This move effectively nullifies any hope for amicable talks with CP.
Why don’t the dumb Mayo Clinic and their mean ol’ lawyers just pack up and build someplace where it is quieter?
We all know the railroad was there first, so it should be “them” that moves their “business” far away so their silly little medical instruments can’t be distrubed by our beloved choo-choo trains delivering our toys from China and cars from Japan? And we just gotta have lots more coal to generate electricicles to light up the night sky so we won’t miss seeing a train at a crossing and get hurt while we are out boozing it up in the wee hours of the night. And we need more billboards lit up all night long… people might not know that “We don’t serve teens”, or that the local car dealer has the best prices of the year this week, again, like last week!
All those stupid, idiot hypochrondiacs that think they are dieing of some weird exotic ailment can just wait for diagnosis and treatment while the new and quieter Mayo(naise) Clinic buildings are being built somewhere out in the sticks where their petty little complaints won’t bother our pure, honest and righteous Railroad, that we all know and worship.
If all the sick people would boycot the Mayo Clinic we could put 'em out’a business!
Just in case some of you are in need of a Heart-Brain transplant… I am being ironic, facetious, sarcastic and sardonic (look 'em up in the dictionary, I did just to be sure I spelled 'em right).
Here in farm country we sometimes have some of the same problems [not as big a scale] with rich city folk moving into fancy housing developments and then complaining bout the smell, noise n dust from the farms around them, even to ending up in the courthouse. They expect the world to change around them and will do and spend almost anything to force the world to comply with their wishes, no matter what the cost to themselves or every-one else.
I’ve never understood their mentality and I don’t understand Mayo’s either, I guess I never will.
Don’t get me wrong. I think the Mayo has legitimate concerns. My point is that they should have tried to undergo negotiations with CP before they went to the STB. Doing it that way would have started things off in a friendlier manner. After all, they claimed that’s what they wanted. Their actions belie that. The Mayo is trying to flex muscles instead of first attempting to shake hands.
Years ago in Lenexa, Ks a longtime ag family tried to warn the preppies by painting the side of the barn " PIG FARM ". Must have been more nocturnal house hunters with head colds. Yep, that’s right. They built houses all around then complained to city hall until the pork producers were forced to close shop and take the developers offer.
Mayo is going to be in world of hurt soon. They are screaming about Vibrations ruining sensitive medical equipment yet just last week I had major surgrey on my right shoulder in Chicago not even 100 yards from both the I-290 and a RR line in a Major hospital guess what no vibration problems. I told my nurse about the Mayo argument in the preop area in between the JACKHAMMERS GOING OFF and there were no problems they are expanding the number of OR’s in the hospital. Yet Mayo is screaming about a RR improving its tracks and building overpasses for traffic WHY because it would make them less important in that town and LESS POWERFUL IN LOCAL POLITICS. THAT IS WHY THEY ARE FIGHTING THIS.
That video was messed up! They think the DM&E is evil, its insane! They dont make any sense about the loan stuff they seem to have forgotton that with the coal trains DM&E’s profit would go up and with CP taking over DM&E they can really pay back the loan now. The Mayo needs to get over themselves and let CP do what it wants to do!