UPDATE – Hurricane Laura’s Impact on America’s Class 1 Railroads

With winds in excess of 120 MPH, Hurricane Laura made landfall last Thursday morning (8/27) and left a path of destruction in her wake. America’s Class 1 railroads were not spared from that destruction. However, over the weekend service was restored on tracks serving the ports and industrial facilities on the Gulf Coast between Houston and New Orleans.  Below is an updated summary of railroads and their return to service:

• The Union Pacific (UP) continues to clear away storm-related debris and has advised their customers to expect, at a minimum, 72 hours in additional transit times.
• Norfolk & Southern (NS) has begun returning railcars that were cleared from 2 major service yards in the New Orleans area. However, they expect delays in their service area to be minimal.
• CSX reports that received minimal damage but warned of possible delays at their New Orleans and Memphis interchange gateways, due to other railroads issues in getting cars to them for furtherance.
• Kansas City Southern (KSU) reported minimal impact from the storm and reported almost normal operations in the area.
• BNSF reported minimal damage and most debris has already been removed from tracks and they are close to being at normal operation levels.