October 17, 2017 - Two related stories:
Railroads, shippers assess damage wrought by two historic storms - ProgressiveRailroading.com -
As of late September, railroads and transit agencies affected by hurricanes Harvey and Irma were still evaluating the toll the devastating storms took on their operations and customers in Texas and Florida.

On Aug. 25, Harvey made landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast as a Category 4 hurricane. Two weeks later, Irma slammed into Florida twice — first hitting the Keys as a Category 4 storm on Sept. 10 and then making landfall later that day as it moved up Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 2.

As the storms hit, the affected Class Is — BNSF Railway Co., Union Pacific Railroad and Kansas City Southern in Texas during Harvey, and CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway in Florida during Irma — provided daily updates and phone numbers on their websites to keep customers apprised of out-of-service routes damaged by high winds and unprecedented flooding, and when those routes would reopen.

Read more: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/rail_industry_trends/article/Railroads-shippers-assess-damage-wrought-by-two-historic-storms--52969

ICIS. com -

Celanese Industries is relying on trucks and rail for deliveries at its plant in Bay City, Texas, following logistics disruptions caused by Hurricane Harvey, the CEO of the US-based acetyls producer said on Tuesday.

For Celanese, logistical problems and feedstock supplies proved to be the bigger challenge posed by Harvey, said Mark Rohr, CEO. He made his comments during an earnings conference call.

The storm interrupted supplies of raw materials and made it difficult to ship finished goods, he said.

Work is still being done to remove debris on the Colorado river, he said. That has prevented barges from serving the company's Bay City plant.

"As we speak today, we're still trying to get barge traffic to Bay City," Rohr said. "We have four dredges lined up outside of the plant site trying to dredge the last few miles of the silted up Colorado river."

Read more: https://www.icis.com/resources/news/2017/10/17/10155123/us-celanese-relies-on-trucks-rail-for-deliveries-at-bay-city-plant/