Updated June 16, 2016 - TRA Newswire
Extensive flooding in parts of Texas from storms has impacted the movement of freight and passenger rail service, especially where a Union Pacific line crosses the Brazos River.
One rail source reports there was extensive damage from floods near the Brazos River on the Union Pacific Sunset Route, a busy East-West corridor between San Antonio and Houston. The Glidden Subdivision was originally expected to be out of service for up to two weeks but now the line may be severed for a month or more with the possibility of a new bridge being constructed at the Brazos River. In the meantime, both freight and passenger trains are being rerouted to other lines, causing delays. Trains are being rerouted through Angleton and Victoria to the south, and College Station and Hempstead to the north. Amtrak reports that the tri-weekly Sunset Limited has been re-routed to use a BNSF Railway line around the Brazos River incident, adding extra travel time between Houston and San Antonio. The Sugarland Sun indicated that the extent of the damage has yet to be determined as high waters have not allowed for thorough inspections. Until the waters recede and a repair plan can be developed, a timetable to reopen the line cannot be set. YourHoustonNews.com had another update.
In a previous advisory to its customers, Union Pacific Railroad noted that "continued rainy conditions across the Southern Plains have caused more than 25 subdivisions in the area to experience outages. We are currently looking at rerouting through areas not currently impacted by flooding. Customers with shipments traversing the Southern Plains should expect delays of up to 72 hours while we work to bring our network back to normal service levels."
BNSF Railway also reported flooding conditions over the past several weeks that impacted service in Texas.
Extensive flooding in parts of Texas from storms has impacted the movement of freight and passenger rail service, especially where a Union Pacific line crosses the Brazos River.
One rail source reports there was extensive damage from floods near the Brazos River on the Union Pacific Sunset Route, a busy East-West corridor between San Antonio and Houston. The Glidden Subdivision was originally expected to be out of service for up to two weeks but now the line may be severed for a month or more with the possibility of a new bridge being constructed at the Brazos River. In the meantime, both freight and passenger trains are being rerouted to other lines, causing delays. Trains are being rerouted through Angleton and Victoria to the south, and College Station and Hempstead to the north. Amtrak reports that the tri-weekly Sunset Limited has been re-routed to use a BNSF Railway line around the Brazos River incident, adding extra travel time between Houston and San Antonio. The Sugarland Sun indicated that the extent of the damage has yet to be determined as high waters have not allowed for thorough inspections. Until the waters recede and a repair plan can be developed, a timetable to reopen the line cannot be set. YourHoustonNews.com had another update.
In a previous advisory to its customers, Union Pacific Railroad noted that "continued rainy conditions across the Southern Plains have caused more than 25 subdivisions in the area to experience outages. We are currently looking at rerouting through areas not currently impacted by flooding. Customers with shipments traversing the Southern Plains should expect delays of up to 72 hours while we work to bring our network back to normal service levels."
BNSF Railway also reported flooding conditions over the past several weeks that impacted service in Texas.