Gulf Region Rail Operations Update

Announcement Number: CN2017-68
Categories: General Announcements
Posted Date: September 3, 2017

To Our Customers, 

We continue to make great strides restoring our Gulf Coast operations impacted by the aftermath of Tropical Storm Harvey. Where repairs have been completed we are, or will soon be, operating trains.

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. 

Following are updates since our last notice: 

  • Repairs are going well on the Baytown, Texas branch. We estimate this part of our railroad to be back in service late this afternoon or early evening. 
  • The repairs at Chocolate Bayou went better than expected over the past 24 hours, and we restored service to the Chocolate Bayou line segment late last night.
  • The bridge over the San Bernard River, located south of Angleton, Texas, is expected to take at least two weeks to repair. We are unable to begin work on this bridge until the water recedes to a safe level, which is projected to occur this Thursday or Friday. Meanwhile, we are able to run trains from Houston to Angleton and Freeport, Texas. Additionally, we are reviewing our transportation plan for alternative routes between Angleton and Bloomington, Texas.
  • Repairs to track and signals, as well as bridge inspections continue where we have access. In areas like Beaumont, Texas, where we have no road access, we continue to utilize helicopters and drones to inspect areas by air. 
  • Where routes are open, the Southern Region of our network will operate trains at normal levels over the Labor Day holiday weekend. 

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. 

Please contact the National Customer Service Center or your Union Pacific representative with any questions.