Gulf Region Rail Operations Update
Announcement Number: CN2017-67
Categories: General Announcements
Posted Date: September 2, 2017
To Our Customers,
We have made great strides on restoring our network and are making continual progress. Like many of our customers in this region, our employees have been personally affected by the storm and must turn their attention to their families and their safety. We will continue to do everything we can to restore service as your facilities come back on line and your teams return to work, but we ask for your patience as the safety and well-being of our employees and their families is our top priority. As work continues, we remain committed to providing the most up-to-date feedback to allow your teams to make effective decisions for your operations.
As Union Pacific's freight rail service in the Houston area comes back on line, people are urged to be safe at railroad crossings and along railroad tracks. While tracks may have been dormant for several days following the storm, many of them are now active. As always, heed all warning signs and signals at crossings and do not trespass on railroad property or along railroad tracks. Additional rail safety information can be found at www.up.com/worththewait.
Our Gulf Coast operations continue to be impacted by the aftermath of Tropical Storm Harvey. Where repairs have been completed we are, or will soon be, operating trains.
Following are updates since our last notice:
- Repairs have been completed between Houston and Longview, Texas.
- Repairs have begun on our track on the Baytown, Texas branch. We estimate this part of our railroad to return to service the first part of next week.
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- One of our top priorities is to restore our east-west lines, which will allow us to move trains directly between Houston and Beaumont, Texas. This part of our railroad may not be repaired for another week, as roadways are blocked and access is limited in the Beaumont area. We are also restricted from accessing a portion of track near the Arkema Plant at Crosby, Texas, which sits right next to our main line.
- We have lost part of our bridge just north of Houston on our line that runs up to Shreveport, Louisiana. This bridge is expected to take a month to repair and is near Humble, Texas.
- Work was complete on our line running from Angleton, Texas down south through Bloomington, Texas; however, we have just learned a bridge 13 miles south of Angleton has been damaged. Inspectors are en route to determine the extent of the damage.
- A substantial washout at Chocolate Bayou, Texas, near Angleton, TX, is being addressed, with plans to restore service the middle of next week.
- Repairs to track and signals, as well as bridge inspections continue where we have access. In areas where we have no road access, we continue to utilize helicopters and drones to inspect areas by air.
A complete list of active Union Pacific embargoes can be viewed on our embargo page. The embargoes are for all rail traffic, including intermodal equipment and automotive shipments. Barbours Cut Intermodal facility is currently embargoed and not open for traffic.
If you have questions regarding the movement of specific rail equipment, please continue to input Service Issues via our secure customer website, MyUPRR.com (User ID and password required). Our Hurricane Hotline is 800-365-6963 and should be used by our customers to report any damage to facilities that would impact our ability to provide service once operations resume. This information should include damage or tracks out of service and estimated facility repair time.
This map is for illustrative purposes only. The map is not inclusive of all industrial leads, branch lines or yards. Please refer to the embargo page for a complete list of active embargoes and rail station listings.
Please contact the National Customer Service Center or your Union Pacific representative with any questions.