As Hurricane Isaac approaches landfall in the Gulf Coast, the major Class I railroads in the area are making preparations. Here's a listing of the latest updates provided by the carriers serving the region:

BNSF

No service advisory available as of yet.  Anticipated service delays of 24-48 hours on traffic moving within affected areas.

CN

No service advisory available as of yet.  Anticipated service delays of 24-48 hours on traffic moving within affected areas.

CSXT

New Orleans, Mobile and Pascagoula are currently in the final stages of clearing their yards due to the expected landfall of Isaac Tues/Weds.  This traffic will be routing to various locations North and/or Northwest to be temporarily staged until the inclement weather has passed and conditions are deemed safe to return.  All interchanges have been cleared from these locations and all industrial work will be curtailed for at least the next 48 hours.  

Any further updates will be passed along as they become available.

Additional CSXT detail:

Subject: Hurricane Isaac plan 8/26

The following profile changes are in place for Hurricane Isaac.  Please direct any questions to Network Directors at 2055. 

R601 – Waycross – Fitz – Manch – Atlanta – Chattanooga – Kayne Ave – Bruceton – Memphis/UP.  (NOSH block and pickup at Atlanta)

R605 – Waycross – Fitz – Manch – Atlanta – Chattanooga – Kayne Ave – Bruceton – Memphis/UP.  (NMLI – NOAV block and pickup at Atlanta).

R145 – Atlanta – Lagrange – Birmingham – Kayne Ave – Bruceton – Memphis/UP. (Blocks same as current)

R683 – Hamlet – Greenwood – Atlanta – Lagrange – Birmingham. (KCS – BN blocks from Hamlet). 

R606 – UP/Memphis – Bruceton – Kayne Ave – Birmingham – Manchester – Fitz – Waycross. (WAX block)

R614 – UP/Memphis – Bruceton – Kayne Ave – Chattanooga – Atlanta – Greenwood – Hamlet. (HAM – GWD block)

R144 – UP/Memphis – Bruceton – Kayne Ave – Chattanooga – Atlanta. (will carry Q144/Q180 block traffic).

UP information.

Omaha request 2.0 trailing tonnage for power on R601. R605/R145 may operate with 1.5 trailing.

I have requested 6 to 8 hour reroute trains into Memphis with 8000 ft. limit in both directions.

Q60525 – Will operate as X60526 from Pensacola. 1 trip only

Q60227 – Will operate as X60226 – NOL – Mobile – Montgomery – Manchester – Fitz – Waycross. 1 trip only.

Will continue to refine the plan. Expect to flow New Orleans/KCS traffic and New Orleans/BN traffic to Birmingham and accumulate for delivery during the week.  Route to be determined.

Traffic destined for Pensacola – Mobile – NO&M – New Orleans/CN – NOPB and local traffic will be held back.

KCS

Per KCS Railroad Service Department (no official service advisory available yet):

All traffic is being moved out of New Orleans and Gulfport today. Will go back to work on Thursday or Friday.  Baton Rouge operations will remain normal. Reserve will be impacted.

A service status update will go out to all customers today in regards to our planning for the storm. All questions in regards to daily storm updates should go through Customer Solutions so that we can provide real time updates.

NOPB

August 26, 2012 at 12:30pm

To All New Orleans Public Belt Employees: Due to the impending storm, Hurricane Isaac, effective Monday, August 27, 2012 at 2:00 p.m., all assignments in all crafts on the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad will be annulled until further notice. Return to work notification will follow the passing of Hurricane Isaac once the determination is made there is no immediate threat to our employees, their families, or the Railroad.

NS

Hurricane Isaac Emergency Plan

Norfolk Southern has implemented emergency plans for the Gulf Coast areas that are being effected by Hurricane Isaac. Traffic normally routed via interchanges in the New Orleans and Mobile areas are being curtailed and some traffic has been rerouted to avoid areas that may be impacted by flooding or high winds. Rail cars held in the areas around Mobile and New Orleans will be moved to avoid areas prone to flooding. Local service in these areas will be suspended effective August 28th until the storm passes and operations can safely resume normal schedules.

Customers with shipments normally moving over these routes should expect delays. Updated ETA and routing information is always available through Pacesetter (Norfolk Southern's web based pipeline management tool), and accessNS

Customers with questions regarding specific shipments should contact the National Customer Service Center.

Customer Service Operations - 800-635-5768

Customers with questions regarding local service should contact their Operations and Service Support Representative.

Operations and Service Support - 800-898-4296

UP

Union Pacific Prepares for Arrival of Tropical Storm Isaac
Announcement Number: CN2012-33

8-26-2012

To Our Customers,

Union Pacific, along with the NS and the CSXT railroads are making preparations for the arrival of Tropical Storm Isaac. The storm could strengthen to a Category 2 hurricane prior to making landfall, currently estimated to be early Wednesday morning along the Gulf Coast near Mobile, Alabama. The City of New Orleans is expected to shut the city's flood gates by 2:00 p.m. Monday afternoon, cutting off rail access into and out of the city.

Effective immediately, Union Pacific operations personnel are working with the CSXT and Norfolk Southern to reroute traffic normally interchanged at New Orleans to the Memphis gateway. Customer shipments that are currently in the New Orleans area that cannot be interchanged prior to the shutting of the flood gates will be moved to higher ground until the storm passes.

In preparation for the arrival of Isaac, Union Pacific is currently moving equipment out of the low-lying areas and positioning materials to begin any necessary repair work as soon as the storm subsides and any damage can be assessed.

Customers with traffic moving through the New Orleans area should anticipate 24- to 48-hour delays.

We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.

If you have any questions please contact your Union Pacific representative.

The below notice was distributed by BNSF regarding delays in the Northeast as a result of Hurricane Irene:

Norfolk Southern Embargo Notification – Ayer, 

Massachusetts and Albany, New York

Due to conditions resulting from Hurricane Irene, the NS has issued embargoes to Ayer, Massachusetts and 

Albany, New York.  BNSF will continue to accept intermodal traffic destined to these locations.  Rail service will 

terminate in Chicago, where units will be available for customer pick up upon patron notification. 

For more information about the embargo, please reference the AAR Embargo NS000811 at the following link: 

https://aarembargo.railinc.com/epdb/searchEmbargoAction.do?step=viewDetails&embargoNumber=NS000811

BNSF Reported a Derailment today:

Preliminary Report: Derailment near Hannibal, Missouri

We have a preliminary report that merchandise train H-MEMGAL9-18 derailed near Hannibal, Missouri. 

This location is approximately 2 miles south of Hannibal, Missouri. 

BNSF personnel are on site to determine the impact.  At this current time we do not have an estimate on 

the opening of the main track.  BNSF will continue to provide you with additional information as it becomes 

available.  Customers may experience delays of 24 to 36 hours on shipments moving through this corridor.

Updated shipment information is always available through the secure Rail Central web tool at bnsf.com.  If 

you have any questions, please contact BNSF Customer Support at 1-888-428-2673, option 4, option 3.

 

Here is a breakdown of updates on winter weather issues from each of the major carriers:

02/02/2011

 

To: All BNSF Customers

 

Update Report: Extreme Cold and Winter Weather

As mentioned in a service advisory on January 31, 2011, BNSF service has been adversely impacted by extreme cold and winter weather conditions across the network system. The weather forecasts are predicting these inclement weather conditions will continue through Thursday morning.

Customers may experience additional delays of 24 - 48 hours on shipments in impacted areas. Updated shipment information is always available through the Rail Central tool in the secure bnsf.com.

February 04, 2011

 

Yesterday's major U.S. storm has dissipated. Two to three feet of snow (60 to 90 cm) have fallen over portions of our Midwestern and Northeastern network. While some customer shipments continue to experience delays, local switching and main line operations are running without interruption as our crews work to restore normal service levels in the affected areas.

CN is operating normally in northern B.C., despite the fact that some weather warnings are in effect there.

Weather conditions have improved throughout the Prairie provinces, and our operations are unimpeded.

Weather conditions are normal at this time in Eastern Canada. CN operations experienced no major delays due to the recent snowfall.

We continue to monitor weather and traffic patterns very closely, and will update this page as the situation evolves.

Please don't hesitate to contact your Customer Support Representative or to use your regular channels to obtain more detailed information on specific shipments.

  February 3, 2011

 

Customer Bulletin: Update on Winter Storm Impacts in the Midwest and East

 

The winter storm in the U.S. Midwest and eastern Canada is abating.

 

A Service Alert has been declared in the Chicago area as snow clearing crews work to dig out from over 20 inches (50 cm) of snow received in the past 36 hours. Hazardous road conditions, road and interstate closures between Milwaukee and Chicago are affecting our ability to move crews and access track. High winds are causing blowing and drifting snow throughout the area. 

 Our Intermodal Terminals at Bensenville and Schiller Park re-opened at noon today but operations are impacted due to snow-clearing activities in the terminals. The Schiller Park Empty Depot remains closed.

 

Heavy snow and drifting on the line from Huron to Tracy caused a minor line outage at Elkton, cleared by late afternoon but affecting fluidity in the area. 

Shipments entering Canada through the Windsor and Buffalo gateways will experience delays at interchange and on-line as crews clear sidings and switches of snow accumulation. Impacts also continue to be experienced due the effect on interchange with other affected railways.

 

For specific shipment and problem resolution inquiries, please contact our Customer Service Team at 1-888-333-8111.     

CSX Service Bulletin - Feb. 1 Winter Weather Alert

 

Another major winter storm is moving through the Midwest, Great Lakes Region and eventually into the Northeast Tuesday and Wednesday, February 1-2. The storm is bringing heavy ice and snow accumulation and will be impacting operations across the northern portion of the CSX system. States or areas impacted are Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Northern Kentucky, West Virginia, Northern Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Delaware.  Customers with traffic moving through these areas should expect delays up to 48 hours.  If you have questions regarding specific shipments, please access the Problem Resolution tool via ShipCSX or contact the Customer Service Center at 1-877-ShipCSX (1-877-744-7279), option 5, option 6

KCS Kansas City-area winter storm update

 

Heavy snow and high winds in the Midwest have had a significant impact on the Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCS).  As a result of this event, we may experience delays on our network and at various other interchange points. 

The residual effect of this winter storm is expected to impact Kansas City and surrounding areas over the next 24 hours.  KCS is continuing operations as weather permits; however, trains are running at a reduced speed.  High winds may limit intermodal double-stack operations.  Service to industries in the most severely affected areas is limited.  These service exceptions have been communicated to the affected customers. 

With the accumulation of the snow and ice, KCS maintenance of way and signal employees are staged at strategic locations to remove downed trees, plow snow from the track, and install back-up generators at signals where necessary.  The Network Operations Center is engaging heat sensors at main line switches as necessary, and safety briefings have been stepped up for crews in affected areas.

Please direct any questions about how this storm is affecting service to the Customer Solutions Center at 1-800-468-6527.

Winter Storm Impacting Midwest Operations

 

A major winter storm moving into the Midwest will impact a significant portion of Norfolk Southern's service region from Kansas City, through Missouri, and into nothern sections of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. These areas are expecting significant snow accumulation, ice, and wind with blizzard conditions in some areas. Customers with shipments normally moving through this area should expect delays of up to 48 hours and may also notice routing changes; in coordination with western carriers, some traffic normally moving over Midwestern gateways may be rerouted over other gateways south of the impacted area.

Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 9:00 a.m.

Winter Storm Update - Chicago Area Slowly Recovering

The winter storm that impacted most of our operations in the eastern part of our network has moved east.  The Chicago area is slowly recovering from over two feet of snow and drifting conditions.  We are currently working to clear our facilities of drifted snow and do not expect to begin processing at any of our yards or intermodal ramps in the Chicago area until later this evening.  We are also working with our interchange partners in the Chicago area to plan for the exchange of traffic, however, this too is a slow process as they have been affected as well by the severe weather conditions.  Our main lines west and south of Chicago have been cleared so that we can begin to move backlogged traffic toward the area once the processing facilities are ready for it.  We are re-routing some traffic to and from eastern carriers via alternate gateways as opportunities exist.  No intermodal trains will depart from the west coast toward Chicago again today.

The remaining parts of our network are recovering as well and processing at near normal levels.  We are experiencing sporadic problems west of Ft. Worth with icy road conditions that are impacting our ability to get crews to trains.  We also have icing conditions in Kansas and Oklahoma as well.  These areas will have minimal impact to train operations.

Customers can continue to expect a minimum of 24-48 hours of delay for traffic moving to or through the impacted areas.