Union Pacific Issues Embargoes in Preparation for Tropical Storm Isaac
Announcement Number: CN2012-34
Categories: General Announcements
Posted Date: August 27, 2012
To Our Customers,
Union Pacific, along with the Norfolk Southern and the CSXT railroads continue to prepare for the arrival of Tropical Storm Isaac. The storm is currently expected to strengthen to a Category 1 hurricane prior to making landfall, now estimated to be late Tuesday along the Gulf Coast near New Orleans, La. The City of New Orleans began shutting its flood gates early this afternoon, cutting off rail access into and out of the city.
Effective immediately, Union Pacific has issued an embargo for all shipments to and from the New Orleans area. Additionally, an embargo has been issued for all Rail Security Sensitive Materials (RSSM) shipments that originate or terminate between Beaumont, Texas and New Orleans and between Baton Rouge, La., and New Orleans. For a current list of embargoes, please refer to the embargo (http://www.uprr.com/customers/embargo/list.shtml) section of the Union Pacific website. Customers with questions about shipments into and out of the New Orleans area and other embargoed areas should contact the National Customer Center at 1-800-272-8777.
Union Pacific operations personnel continue to work with the CSXT and NS to reroute traffic normally interchanged at New Orleans to the Memphis gateway. In preparation for the arrival of Isaac, Union Pacific is currently moving equipment out of our yards in the New Orleans area and positioning materials to begin any necessary repair work as soon as the storm subsides and any damage can be assessed.
Customers with traffic scheduled through the New Orleans gateway should anticipate 24- to 48-hour delays as shipments are rerouted.
We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.
If you have any questions please contact your Union Pacific representative.