CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway Working to Restore Service After Hurricane Helene

CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) crews were working around the clock this past weekend to recover and restore service following the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene, which reached Florida late last week and moved through Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and North Carolina, Progressive Railroading reported (9-30-24).

In a customer service advisory, CSX said it had made substantial progress in clearing the network and making necessary repairs over the weekend. “However, the potential for delays remain.”

NS announced it has made significant progress recovering from the storm’s impact. Routes out of service as of last night include Macon to Brunswick; Asheville, North Carolina; Bluefield, West Virginia to Norton, Virginia; Augusta to Millen, Georgia; and Augusta, Georgia, to Columbia, South Carolina. In a customer service advisory, NS said, “Customers with shipments moving through these areas that are currently out of service could see delays of 72 hours.”

AccuWeather estimates total damage and economic losses in the range of $145–160 billion. The amount represents an increase from earlier estimates to reflect the additional, grim damage reports received over the past 48 hours and makes Hurricane Helene one of the costliest storms in US history, AccuWeather said in a press release.