September 2005
Rita’s impact on UP “minimal”Union Pacific says that Hurricane Rita, which devastated portions of coastal Texas and Louisiana, resulted in no catastrophic damage to the railroad's infrastructure in the affected area (2,500 miles of track, 17 operating subdivisions, five classification yards, and the Houston terminal complex).
UP and ceased operations in the Beaumont, Houston, and South Texas areas beginning on Sept. 22. Limited train operations were initiated on Sept. 24, but it is still uncertain how long it will be until full operations resume. As of late Sept. 26, all five classification yards were operational, five subdivisions were operational with commercial electric power, and eight subdivisions were operating using electric generators. Four subdivisions remain out of service as UP clears trees and installs generators. Plans are to restore service over the next two days. Customer embargoes remain in place for all inbound and outbound traffic moving west from Lake Charles to Houston, along with all traffic inbound and outbound for UP stations from Houston south to Brownsville, along the Gulf Coast. “These embargoes remain in effect because of the large number of shipments held enroute during the evacuation and storm,” UP said. “The priority is to move those shipments to destination. Embargoes will be modified and cancelled as UP and customer operations allow.”
Due mainly to lost or deferred revenue, UP is estimating a third-quarter 2005 operating income reduction of $25 million. “Prior to Hurricane Rita, our third-quarter financial performance had been trending near the high end of our earnings guidance of $0.88 to $0.98 per diluted share," said UP President and COO Jim Young. “While diesel fuel prices were a headwind, especially following Hurricane Katrina, revenue growth had also been strong. In fact, during the month of August we set several carloading and revenue records. While still very preliminary, we expect earnings per share to be within the original range, but likely at the mid to lower end. We are working closely with our customers to coordinate our startup plans with the goal of lifting embargoes and resuming service as quickly and safely as possible. The ultimate impact on our third-quarter performance will depend on when customers are able to reopen their facilities, as well as the timing of restoration of normal rail operations. We expect strong demand to continue in the months ahead with the potential to make up some of the revenue lost during the Hurricane Rita shutdown.”
Railroad operations returning to normal after RitaRailroad service is returning to normal along the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast region following Hurricane Rita, which did minimal damage to railroad infrastructure
Union Pacific yesterday began to operate a limited number of through freight trains to position the railroad for a return to limited operations this week as customer facilities come back on line. Railyard and local train service will increase as subdivisions are returned to service and more employees report to work from hurricane evacuation points. UP reports that Houston-area railyards and infrastructure are intact. Sections of rail lines east and north out of Houston are being assessed, both on the ground and in the air, but have mostly trees and power lines down on the track. Currently, UP is clearing the track and placing generators in service at locations without electricity. Track and operating employees also continue to assess railyards and lines, both on the ground and in the air, between Beaumont, Tex., and Livonia, La.; Houston and Shreveport, La., Shreveport and Alexandria, La., and Alexandria and Lake Charles, La.
Kansas City Southern was largely unscathed by Rita. Despite approximately 1,500 downed trees on the lines between Shreveport, La. and Port Arthur, Tex., and between DeQuincy and Lake Charles, La., the tracks appear to be structurally sound and not under water. Damage to KCS facilities in Beaumont, Tex., and Port Arthur is minimal. Maintenance-of way-crews have already cleared approximately half of the trees and anticipate that the line between Beaumont and DeQuincy will be passable by this evening. The line between Lake Charles and DeQuincy is anticipated to be passable by midday Sept. 27. KCS says its biggest challenge is getting crews in place to run trains and providing crew resources like electric utilities, fuel, lodging, water, and ice. KCS adds it is working quickly to get crews in place and to contact employees whose homes may have been affected by the hurricane. As soon as crews are in place, its first order of business will be to work off a backlog of cars that were staged away from the storm. Embargoes for through traffic bound for Mexico or terminating on The Texas Mexican Railway Company will be lifted as soon as the line is passable. Embargoes for traffic to or from particular customers or stations will be lifted as customers resume operations.
BNSF Railway began operating a limited number of trains out of Houston through Temple and Fort Worth on Sept. 24. In addition, southbound train movements from Temple to Houston resumed late on Sept. 25, on a limited basis. Also on that day, BNSF repositioned a limited number of trains from Teague to Houston area yards, including Galveston. Hurricane Rita spared damage to BNSF yards in the Houston and Galveston area. Main lines going west and north from Houston stayed in good operating condition. However, Rita’s storm path did affect the main line to New Orleans, including the Beaumont and Port Arthur areas, downing trees and power lines. The BNSF portion of the main line from Crowley to New Orleans is clear of trees, but numerous signals and crossing gates are affected and without electric power. The railroad’s signal department is inspecting and repairing equipment and moving generators to signal locations. BNSF will coordinate operations with UP to restore service on this line, but this is not expected to occur until later this week. Switching service in the Houston area will be limited at least through Sept. 27 as a result of employees returning their families to Houston after the city's large-scale evacuation. BNSF made lodging and other provisions available to a limited number of train service employees in the Houston area to minimize the impact. A Sept. 21 Service Advisory announced an embargo on all carload traffic originating from or destined to 88 BNSF stations located in South Texas. The embargo will remain in effect until further notice.
Class I rate of return up slightly at midyearClass I railroads earned a 6.66% rate of return on net investment for the 12 months ended June 30 2005, up from 6.04% in the prior 12-month period, according to the Surface Transportation Board. Among the seven individual Class I’s, Norfolk Southern posted the highest ROI, 11.85%, up from 10.85%. Kansas City Southern earned 8.28% vs. 7.02%; BNSF Railway, 7.10% vs.6.43%; CN/Grand Trunk, 7.01% vs. 5.16%; CSX Transportation, 5.06% vs. 3.43%; Union Pacific, 4.40% vs. 6.18%; and Soo Line, 1.10% vs. 7.61%.
BNSF, Trinity Railway Express carry Houston evacuees to DallasSome 450 evacuees from the Houston area bypassed the 14-hour-plus traffic jams on the I-45 yesterday by taking a special Trinity Railway Express commuter train to Dallas Union Station. The six-car train, operated by Herzog Transit Services, Inc., over BNSF Railway trackage, left Houston at 3 p.m. Riders were provided with meals and water at Teague before continuing on to Dallas, where they arrived at midnight. Amtrak kept Union Station open and provided personnel to direct riders upon their arrival.
Nuke waste container derailment: No leaks, no casualtiesEarly this morning, two freight trains in CSX’s Frontier Railyard in Buffalo sideswiped each other, causing a railcar carrying an empty nuclear waste container to topple onto its side. The 320,000-pound container, which was enroute to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, from the Department of Energy Naval Reactors Facility at the Idaho National Laboratory, was not damaged. It had been emptied of spent nuclear fuel from a U.S. Navy submarine.
No one was injured, and the DOE Pittsburgh Naval Reactors Office said the container had no visible damage. Testing confirmed no radiation was released. The cause of the collision is under investigation by CSX, the National Transportation Safety Board, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Federal Railroad Administration, Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory (Pittsburgh), Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (Schenectady) Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and state and local agencies.
According to the DOE, the type of nuclear waste container involved in the derailment “provides extensive shielding, so the radiation levels outside the shipping container are extremely low, a very small fraction of the Department of Transportation limit.” Tubular in shape, the container has 14-inch-thick stainless steel walls and is built to withstand collisions, falls from bridges, fire, and water immersion.
The DOE called the derailment “highly unusual.” One industry observer said it is evidence that rail is the safest way to carry nuclear waste.
Railroads readying for RitaIn anticipation of category-5 Hurricane Rita’s landfall along the Texas Gulf Coast somewhere between Galveston/Houston and Corpus Christi, Tex., railroads in the area likely to be affected are shutting down and securing equipment and facilities.
Union Pacific, Kansas City Southern (including subsidiary Texas-Mexican), and BNSF Railway, all of which have major operations in the area, have placed embargoes on traffic and instructed customers to secure facilities. They are also moving locomotives and cars out of the area and positioning repair equipment and materials.
UP is implementing its Hurricane Preparedness Plan. All traffic destined inbound to UP stations from Houston south to Brownsville, Tex., along the Gulf Coast is embargoed. This includes Dayton, Strang, Angleton, Bloomington, and the Galveston area. All intermodal traffic destined to Houston and Englewood is embargoed. All rail operations in the affected area will cease as of 12:00 p.m, local time today. “Customers are encouraged to secure all rail equipment within their facilities in the impacted area,” UP said in a service bulletin. “Handbrakes should be set, hatch covers and outlet gates closed, and all loading/unloading hoses disconnected.” Anticipating significant damage, UP is pre-positioning ballast, cribbing ties, generators, and other repair materials near the area. Signal masts and road crossing gates are being removed. Locomotives and cars are being moved out of the area to higher ground.
Kansas City Southern is repositioning power and equipment away from several points in Texas including Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Port Arthur, and Houston. Embargoes are now in effect for traffic to and interchanging at Beaumont, Port Arthur, Port Neches, and Chaison. KCS said that if heavy rains move inland, service may be disrupted to its intermodal facility at Laredo.
In service bulletins to customers of its Consumer (automotive and intermodal), Industrial, and Agricultural business units, BNSF has closed all facilities in the Houston/Galveston area and is staging inbound traffic currently enroute on lines outside of the area. BNSF is not accepting new intermodal traffic billed to the Houston area at any of its intermodal facilities. For example, freight currently in-gate at Los Angeles destined for Houston is being ground stacked, not diverted. BNSF says that, though it “currently has no plans to embargo automotive traffic destined to Houston,” it’s asking customers to stop billing traffic to Houston until conditions improve. Automotive traffic currently in-gate destined to the Houston area will be held at origin. Carload traffic originating or terminating at Bay City, Beaumont, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Galveston, Laredo, Seadrift, and Texas City is embargoed until further notice. BNSF’s plan also applies to interline freight destined to Houston. The railroad is working with interline partners to have them hold Houston-destined freight at their facilities.
CSX Transportation says it is “working closely with UP and BNSF as they implement traffic diversions and other measures to support customers in the projected storm path, including those whose shipments are interchanged with CSXT.” Meanwhile, repair work continues on the line east of New Orleans heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina, and at Gentilly Yard in New Orleans, which was partially flooded. It’s possible, though, that storm surges from Rita may impact New Orleans.
Houston is being evacuated, and the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County is operating the METRORail light rail system on an emergency schedule today, at 12-minute intervals. Service is suspended from tomorrow until operations can safely be resumed.
NS prepares PTC rolloutNorfolk Southern is preparing to install its own version of Positive Train Control on its Charleston-Columbia, S.C., main line, on the Piedmont Division. NS is calling it “Optimized Train Control” (OTC).
OTC, says NS, “will employ components of several advanced train control technologies, including PTC.” It will combine data communications, train positioning/location systems, and locomotive onboard computers tied into the train braking system. Its functions will include speed and limit of operating authority enforcement, as well as “improved visibility of network conditions” and “more efficient operations.” It will be a vital (safety critical) system.
Lockheed Martin, system integrator for the North American Joint PTC Program, and GE Rail Global Signaling, supplier of NS’s UTCS (Unified Traffic Control System, which uses GE’s Precision Dispatch™ technology), are partnering on OTC. NS says Lockheed Martin and GE “will work with multiple vendors to develop new components and enhance and integrate systems they have been developing over the past decade.” The intent is to integrate UTCS with OTC. This, says NS Senior Vice President-Operations Planning John Samuels, is a mainstay of NS’s intent to become a “digital railroad.”
Following the pilot program on the Charleston-Columbia main line, NS says its plans to roll out OTC on other lines. The pilot project is expected to require two years (in two 12-month phases) to become fully operational.
The Charleston-Columbia main line is dark (unsignaled) territory. (Earlier this year, a hazmat derailment in which chlorine gas from a punctured tank car killed 11 people occurred on the line at Graniteville, S.C. A train hauling chlorine tankers was misrouted into a siding and collided with a parked train. Several hours earlier, the parked train’s crew had apparently forgotten to re-align the turnout for the main line after completing switching duties. NS says OTC has been in development for a while and had been planned for rollout on the Charleston line long before the Graniteville accident.)
Rail safety shows improvements in first half of 2005According to preliminary Federal Railroad Administration data, the overall number of rail-related accidents and incidents declined by 12% in the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2004. Train accidents declined by 10.1%, highway-rail grade crossing incidents dropped 9.1%, the number of people killed as a result of train-vehicle collisions at grade crossings dropped 11.7%, and railroad employee injuries fell 16.3%. However, the number of trespassers struck and killed by trains increased by 13% during the same six-month comparison period.
“We are moving in the right direction,” said FRA Administrator Joseph H. Boardman. “The trend is positive and encouraging, but will require continued vigilance by railroads, motorists, pedestrians, and government at every level to maintain this momentum the rest of the year.”
UP, NS expand terminal capacityTo more efficiently handle traffic demands, Union Pacific has opened a new $100 million intermodal facility in Dallas and Norfolk Southern has invested $1 million-plus in its Pittsburgh Bulk Terminal.
UP's 360-acre facility is slated to increase the railroad's international container capacity fivefold in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Designed to handle 365,000 over-the-road trailers or ocean-going vessels annually, it will accommodate recent traffic growth and allow UP to pursue new business.
The railroad worked with Prime Rail Interests, Inc., and AUI Contractors to “fast-track” the project, which was completed in about 16 months. Now, the terminal offers one track for the receiving and departure of trains; four tracks to handle unloading of up to 76 doublestacks; five tracks to stage railcars for unloading; four GPS-guided cranes; and more than 4,000 trailer/container spots. According to UP, the new facility will be able to process trucks in 30 to 90 seconds vs. the traditional four minutes.
NS's Pittsburgh Thoroughbred Bulk Transfer Facility has been upgraded to improve the handling of food grade and plastics products as well as lumber and other materials. Among its new features: 50 additional railcar spots and enhanced security, service quality, and appearance. The terminal--served by NS and Ohio Central and operated by Superior Bulk Logistics--will continue to be “open” to qualified trucking companies, said NS.
NS revenue adequate in 2004, says STB In 2004, Norfolk Southern became the first U.S. Class I railroad in five years to earn its cost of capital, according to the Surface Transportation Board. NS became revenue adequate last year with a return on investment of 11.6%. For all railroads, cost of capital was 10.2%, a slight rise from 2003's 9.4% and 2002's 9.8%. Kansas City Southern was the only other carrier to come close to the 2004 average, with an ROI of 8.3%. CN subsidiaries Grand Trunk Western and Illinois Central each came in at 6.0%; BNSF Railway, 5.8%; Union Pacific, 4.5%; CSX Transportation, 4.4%; and Canadian Pacific subsidiary SOO Line, 3.3%. NS was previously revenue adequate in 1996 (13.0% ROI) and 1997 (13.1%), when the industry's average cost of capital was 11.9% and 11.8%, respectively. It was 1999 when a railroad last earned its cost of capital: Grant Trunk Western, with an ROI topping 25.4%. It surpassed the industry average by 14.6 percentage points. Commissioner Francis P. Mulvey, at a meeting earlier this month of the New York Chapter of the Transportation Research Forum, said that due to “price rationing of available capacity,” more railroads will earn their cost of capital in 2005.
CSX estimates Katrina-related lossesCSX has estimating that third-quarter 2005 losses resulting from Hurricane Katrina will negatively impact operating income by around $25 million. CSX said its limits for insurance coverage exceed anticipated expenses of $250 million, which include capital costs of rebuilding rail infrastructure, losses from business interruption, and other costs associated with the storm damage. CSX has a $25 million self-insured retention. “While we expect that losses above the retention will be covered, certain insurance recoveries related to business interruption losses will not be recognized in our operating results until cash is received over the next several months,” the company said in a statement. “We continue to assess the operating and financial impacts of Hurricane Katrina, and will outline these in more detail in our third-quarter earnings announcement in late October.”
CSX said it is “continuing to effectively provide rail service to customers through rerouting of traffic around storm-affected areas of the Gulf Coast. Executive Vice President and COO Tony Ingram said that the flexibility of the railroad’s network “has enabled us to respond quickly to the needs of our customers whose freight normally travels across the affected area. Service to local customers will also be restored as repairs are made in phases. Rerouted trains will be brought back to the original lines when all major repairs are completed.” That, he said, could take up to six months.
KCS clears final barriers to 100% ownership of TFMKansas City Southern today announced a settlement with the Mexican government under which “KCS and its subsidiaries now own 100% of GTFM [Grupo Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana] and TFM shares; the potential obligation of KCS, GTFM, and Grupo TMM to acquire the Mexican government's remaining 20% ownership has been eliminated; and the legal obligation of the Mexican government to issue the VAT [value added tax] refund to TFM has been satisfied.”
KCS added that “part of the value of the VAT refund was used to purchase the TFM shares and to cover taxes related to the settlement. There will be no cash payment by either party under the settlement agreement.”
KCS Chairman, President, and CEO Michael R. Haverty said the settlement “will be good for the Mexican government, the Mexican people, and for KCS shareholders. Now we can move forward with our ongoing capital investments in TFM and focus on providing outstanding rail service along the NAFTA rail corridor.”
NS poised to help New Orleans rebuild Norfolk Southern resumed freight service into New Orleans today and is “ready to assist in the transportation of supplies and materials in and out of the city,” said Chairman and CEO David R. Goode.
“We are committed to serving New Orleans over the long-term, and our rail line can serve as a vital link in the recovery process,” pledged Goode.
Resumption of service to the stricken city came 16 days after Hurricane Katrina ripped nearly five miles of track from the top of NS's 5.8-mile Lake Pontchartrain Bridge and dumped it into the water. The storm also inflicted major damage on nine miles of track running through the city itself.
The railroad said its crews had inspected 1,400 miles of track, removed 5,500 fallen trees, inserted 11,000 crossties, and installed 55,000 tons of ballast.
In restoring the bridge, nine cranes on barges lifted the track out of the water and onto the bridge.
NS said it was continuing to assess Katrina's impact on third-quarter financial results.
China orders 300 6,000-hp EMD diesel-electricsEMD has signed an agreement with China’s Ministry of Railways (MoR) and Dalian Locomotive Works (DLoco) for the supply of 300 6,000-hp diesel-electric locomotives for heavy-haul duty on the Chinese railways. EMD said the a.c.-traction units are being jointly designed and manufactured with DLoco under a technology license. An undisclosed number of the locomotives will be built at a plant in Dalian.
“This is a very important business development for our company,” said EMD President and CEO John S. Hamilton. “We have worked for many years in developing the right combination of technology with the ability to localize manufacturing capability to meet the needs of our partners and customers.” Financial provisions of the transaction were not disclosed.
“Work has already started on the detailed design of the locomotives to make them applicable for use by the MoR,” said an announcement issued in Beijing on Sept. 7. “Teams are also developing the production plans for the portion of the locomotives that will be manufactured in China.”
The first locomotives are to be ready for testing in China in the latter half of 2007, with production continuing over the next two years.
RailAmerica to acquire four short lines, lease 48-mile CSX branch lineOn Sept. 30, RailAmerica will be home to another four short line operations. Alcoa, Inc., selected the holding company to acquire four railroads serving its aluminum manufacturing operations in Texas and New York, and a former specialty chemicals facility in Arkansas. As part of the deal, RailAmerica and Alcoa will enter into long-term service agreements.
The $77.5 million price for Point Comfort & Northern (Port Comfort, Texas), Rockdale, Sandow & Southern (Sandow, Texas), Massena Terminal (Massena, N.Y.,), and Bauxite & Northern (Bauxite, Ark.) is said to be based on RailAmerica assuming a targeted permanent working capital deficit. In addition, RailAmerica plans to fund substantially all the cash purchase price through a $75 million increase in the term loan portion of its existing senior secured credit facility.
“We look forward to providing quality rail service to the Alcoa facilities as well as other customers on the line,” said Charles Swinburn, CEO of RailAmerica, during today's announcement.
Meanwhile, RailAmerica has signed a 25-year lease to operate CSX Transportation's 48-mile Fremont branch. The line runs from Fremont, Mich., to West Olive, Mich., and interchanges with RailAmerica's Michigan Shore Railroad and CSXT. RailAmerica will begin service here on Sept. 10.
Railroads contribute to hurricane victimsBNSF Railway and Norfolk Southern each have pledged $1 million to Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery efforts.
BNSF's contribution is going to the American Red Cross. NS is giving $500,000 to local and state emergency responders and other community organizations along its lines and will match employee donations to designated national relief organizations, up to a maximum corporate donation of $500,000.
“NS has served the people and industries of the Gulf states for more than 130 years,” said NS Chairman and CEO David R. Goode. “For our local employees, customers, and neighbors, we join with those around the world who are devoting their resources to the relief effort.”
NS also has expanded its financial program for employees in areas of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi who sustained hurricane-related losses. For those eligible, the railroad will grant up to $4,000 to help cover unreimbursed losses and temporary living expenses, and provide interest-free loans up to $15,000 for uninsured residential or property damages or losses. In addition, it's offering temporary job relocation, including food and lodging assistance.
Besides promoting local relief campaigns and donating flares to Louisiana law enforcement, NS will give two weeks paid leave to 20 employees who serve recognized relief organizations.
BNSF, which doesn't reach all of the coastal regions but interchanges with carriers that do, “stands ready” to help with relief efforts. “All of America grieves at the unfolding tragedy and our company and employees are anxious to help,” BNSF Chairman, President, and CEO Matthew K. Rose wrote in a letter to the governors of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Reasonable requests for the use of equipment and movement of materials over the combined freight railroads' network will be considered. BNSF also plans to register its willingness to assist with transportation services on the Department of Homeland Security's website.
Currently, the Association of American Railroads' members, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Federal Railroad Administration, Amtrak, and others are in discussions to address a coordinated railroad response.
CPR expansion is 70% completeBy the end of this year, Canadian Pacific will be able to run an additional four trains daily between the Prairies and the Port of Vancouver. That will amount to a 12% increase in capacity, made possible by a $160 million expansion program that was 70% complete as of early September. The expansion consists of 25 separate projects between Moose Bay, Sask., and Vancouver. These include the building and lengthening of sidings, the laying of double track sections, improving signaling systems, and installing new staging track and crossovers. CPR announced Sept. 2 that the first 14 projects had been completed, involving the installation of more than 3,000 tons of rail and 80,000 tons of ballast. The $160 million program is in addition to a capital program of approximately $760 million announced early this year. The expansion responds to the increasing flow of import and export goods and commodities through the Port of Vancouver.
Rail fatalities rise 5.3% in year's first halfU.S. railroads reported 457 fatalities to the Federal Railroad Administration in the first six months of 2005, an increase of 5.3% over the same period last year. More than half of those killed--244--were trespassers, a 13% increase. Grade crossing fatalities dropped by 11.7%, to 174.
Safety statistics posted on the FRA's Website on Sept. 1 showed a total of 6,303 accidents/incidents in the first half of this year, down 12% from the 2004 period. The number of train accidents dropped 10.1% to 1,499. There were 122 collisions, up 3.4%, and 1,099 derailments, a decrease of 8.3%. Yard accidents declined 12.8% to 817.
Philadelphia's PCCs return to serviceThis Sunday, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority will reinstate trolley service along Route 15 following a 13-year absence. Eighteen rebuilt PCC II (Presidential Conference Committee) cars will run over the 8.2-mile stretch in North Philadelphia, providing another aboveground transit alternative for area residents. SEPTA already offers bus as well as light rail service, in addition to its subways.
As part of the $88 million project, SEPTA completed last year renewal and repair work on track and catenary and the power supply system. It also built new island platforms and improved the traffic control system. Protests from residents near Callowhill Carhouse, however, halted an earlier attempt at service inauguration.
Brookville Equipment Co. rebuilt the cars, each valued at $1.3 million. According to BEC Manager Andy Cable, it was the first time the company undertook such a task, stripping the cars down to their frames and repairing and restoring them to integrate original equipment with modern amenities. The cars' exteriors feature the winged insignia and the green and cream paint scheme of SEPTA's predecessor, the Philadelphia Transportation Co. They also offer air conditioning and a Vossloh IGBT propulsion system with Skoda a.c. traction motors and disc and track brakes, as well as original "bullseye" Art Deco interior lighting, passenger request signs, a public-address system, and cloth-upholstered seats. A center-door Stewart & Stevenson wheelchair lift provides handicapped access, with space for two wheelchairs.
Philadelphia's trolley service started in the second half of the 19th Century, leading the way to the development of new neighborhoods and fueling commerce in a city dominated by diverse industrial production and manufacturing, according to SEPTA. As late as 1947, some 1,900 trolleys were still serving 58 routes. Eventually, trolleys gave way to buses. But PCC cars continued to operate along Route 15 and several other routes until 1992, when their deteriorated condition forced their replacement by buses.
Railroads work to restore Gulf Coast service One of the deadliest natural disasters in the U.S. since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, Hurricane Katrina is said to have killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. While a full recovery may take years, the railroad industry is making progress in its restoration of transportation service in all but the hardest-hit areas.
Norfolk Southern Chairman and CEO David Goode announced late yesterday that “lines are open, trains are moving” everywhere except New Orleans, which remains under water. Freight that regularly travels here is being rerouted by all carriers.
The key to helping railroads like NS get back to "normal" more quickly: Preparation. Hurricanes Camille, Andrew, Fran, and Hugo taught them to move rolling stock, locomotives, and customer shipments inland and stage crews, ballast, rail, and equipment just outside the storm's path. NS's Thoroughbred Operating Plan (TOP) proved useful this time, too. Its transportation planners plotted “what if” scenarios before the storm struck and planned efficient rerouting strategies.
Here's where some of the Class I operations stand now:
* Norfolk Southern. NS crews have removed 3,680 trees along lines in the Gulf states and inspected some 1,400 miles of track. The railroad reports that repairs will start this week on its 5.8-mile concrete ballast trestle across Lake Pontchartrain from Slidell, La., to New Orleans, where several miles of rail were washed from the top of the bridge. Its Oliver Yard in New Orleans is still under water. “Once we restore rail to the bridge and repair adjacent trackage, and once water recedes, we will be able to move needed materials and supplies to the area,” said Stephen C. Tobias, vice chairman and COO. “We recognize the extreme need of our neighbors in New Orleans, and we will work as quickly and safely as possible to help in their recovery."
* CSX Transportation. Service has been restored between Montgomery, Ala., and Penscola, Fla., and switching operations are ongoing at CSXT's Pensacola yard. Work continues along the bay front, east of Pensacola. Also open is the route from Flomaton, Ala., to within 14 miles of Mobile, Ala., where debris remains on some sections of track. According to the railroad, inspections are ongoing between Mobile and New Orleans, but high water in some areas “continues to hamper accurate assessments, especially in and around New Orleans.” CSXT is rerouting traffic around the affected areas using the gateways at Memphis, Tenn., and East St. Louis, Ill., for exchange with western roads.
* Union Pacific. Initial inspections of UP's main track and terminal facilities in and around the New Orleans area are complete. Embargoes are in place for all traffic on the Livonia Subdivision between St. James, La., east to New Orleans, and on the Lafayette Subdivision to UP-served stations between New Iberia, La., east to New Orleans. “We are working with our customers on the Livonia Subdivision, many of whom had damage to their facilities, to provide local service as needed, as they work to restore their operations,” UP said. “We continue to work closely with the eastern carriers as they assess the damage to their systems and are jointly developing alternative operating plans for New Orleans traffic through other gateways.”
* BNSF Railway. BNSF will not accept shipments to NS-bound destinations in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina at its Los Angeles Hobart Intermodal Facility until Sept. 6. “This will give us the operational flexibility in order to route trains over the various gateways, based on changing operational conditions,” BNSF said. Due to capacity concerns, BNSF has strongly discouraged customers from using a bill/rebill option to route freight through Chicago, if it's destined to NS locations in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The railroad is not accepting any shipments destined for New Orleans at any of its intermodal facilities at this time either. The BNSF New Orleans Intermodal Facility will remain closed, with service to and from New Orleans suspended, until at least Sept. 6.
* CN. CN has lifted embargoes on its stations in Baton Rouge, La.; Geismar, La.; Hammond, La.; and Ferguson, Miss., and reestablished service to and from Ferguson. Later today, it expects to offer limited service between the Baton Rouge/Geismar/Remy, La., industrial complex, and the balance of CN's network. “We will be working with our interline-partner railroads today to develop alternative routings for traffic that is normally interchanged at the New Orleans gateway,” said CN. “Our people are assessing the work and time required to reestablish service to Mobile, Ala., to Bogalusa, La., and to Reserve, La., Destrehan, La., and New Orleans, La.”
* Kansas City Southern. All traffic bound for New Orleans from any KCS station or interchange remains under embargo, as operations have been affected in the New Orleans and Gulfport, Miss., areas and on the eastern portion of the Meridian Speedway between Meridian, Miss., and Jackson, Miss. Maintenance-of-way crews have cleared the line from Baton Rouge, La., to Frellsen, La., which is about 10 miles outside of New Orleans, and are removing trees between Vicksburg, Miss., and Jackson, and Jackson and Meridian. The intermodal ramp at Jackson has reopened and trains are moving west from Jackson on the Meridian Speedway. KCS anticipates that it will begin accepting traffic at Meridian later this week. Crews are still unable to get close enough to Gulfport, Miss., to “truly assess the damage.” KCS is accepting interchange traffic from the east at East St. Louis, Ill. Any new traffic will be handled on an “available-capacity basis,” with long-term contracts business receiving priority.