Weather – Page 2 – Railfanning.org

Hurricane Ike Causes Rail Freight Downturn

September 27, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads was off sharply during the week ended September 20 in comparison with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported. Much of the decline can be attributed to disruptions caused by Hurricane Ike which struck the Gulf Coast Sept. 13. Total volume was estimated at 32.8 billion ton-miles, down 6.8 percent from the comparable week last year. Carload freight in the week totaled 312,662 cars, off 7.8 percent from last year. Volume was down 10.4 percent in the West and 4.3 percent in the East. Intermodal volume, which is

CSX: Weather to Reduce Q3 Operating Income

September 23, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Corp. said that the financial impact of recent storms in the Gulf Coast and Midwest is now expected to reduce third quarter operating income by $40 million to $50 million and earnings per share by six to eight cents. The impact is primarily related to asset write downs, business interruption and reroute expenses, the company said. — PRNewswire-FirstCall

Service Alert: Chicago Hub Service — Heavy Rains Result in Track Closures

September 14, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

The remnants of Hurricane Ike have been dumping heavy rains on the states of Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Missouri. The resulting temporary closure of various railroad routes is leading to the cancellation of some Amtrak service, with other Amtrak trains operating subject to significant delays. Amtrak is working with the owners of the routes to restore normal service as soon as possible. Passengers with travel plans in these states are urged to call Amtrak at 800-USA-RAIL to confirm the operation of their trains and the status of alternate transportation. Lincoln Service and Texas Eagle, Chicago-Springfield-St. Louis Trains 303, 304, 305,

Weather Impacts Rail Freight Traffic to Start September

September 13, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — At least partly because of weather-related issues (Hurricane Gustav at the beginning of the week and Tropical Storm Hanna later in the week), freight traffic on U.S. railroads was off during the first week of September in comparison with the corresponding week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported today. Both this year’s week and the comparison week from last year included the Labor Day holiday. Total volume was estimated 32.0 billion ton-miles, down 3.3 percent from the comparable week last year. Carload freight in the week totaled 306,340 cars, off 3.5 percent from last year.

Service Alert: Hurricane Ike — Sunset Limited, Crescent, Texas Eagle, Heartland Flyer & City of New Orleans Affected

September 13, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

Amtrak has begun to restore some service temporarily suspended due to the landfall of Hurricane Ike. Nevertheless, all passengers who have travel plans through September 15 in the affected areas on the Los Angeles-San Antonio-New Orleans route of the Amtrak Sunset Limited, Chicago-Fort Worth-San Antonio route of the Amtrak Texas Eagle or Chicago-Memphis-New Orleans route of the Amtrak City of New Orleans are urged to call Amtrak at 800-USA-RAIL. Those passengers with telephone contact information in their reservations are being called by Amtrak and offered options including future travel dates. Ticketed passengers affected by this service suspension will be eligible

Japan’s Shinkansen Loses Power After Lightning Strike

September 3, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

TOKYO — A Shinkansen lost power following a lighting strike, according to media reports. The power blackout was temporary and authorities found a small hole on the roof of one of the Shinkansen’s cars. Authorities believe lightning may have caused the hole. Also, the train’s engineer said he heard sound before the power failure. The East Japan Railway Co. train — No. 263 — was pulling in at Oyama Station in Tochigi Prefecture at the time of the blackout.

CSX Reports on Track Inspections Following Gustav

September 3, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation (CSXT) has completed its initial inspection of track and terminals in the Gulf Coast region impacted by Hurricane Gustav. Though no significant damage occurred to any of CSXT’s bridges or terminals, the company has identified at least 21 miles of track with substantial impact. Repairs to the track damage, which begins about 10 miles east of New Orleans, will require at least two weeks. As a result, a daily average of 7-10 trains will continue to be rerouted through alternative gateways at Memphis, Tenn.; Birmingham, Ala.; and East St. Louis, Ill. Due to traffic routed

California Zephyr Route Restored by Union Pacific Railroad

February 3, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

Union Pacific Railroad has reopened the route through the Sierra Mountains used by the daily California Zephyr (Trains 5 & 6) between the San Francisco Bay and Chicago. The tracks were blocked on Feb. 1 in a mishap involving UP snow-removal equipment. Westbound Train 5, originating from Chicago on Jan. 30 Amtrak managers responded to the Placer County location where the westbound California Zephyr was stopped. Later, a decision was made to reverse the train to Reno, Nevada, where about 160 passengers were housed and fed at Amtrak expense in area hotels, awaiting alternate transportation that was provided today. At

Amtrak Restoring Partial Coast Starlight Service

February 2, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

OAKLAND – Amtrak is restoring service on a portion of the route of the Coast Starlight, beginning Feb. 6. Following discussions with the Union Pacific Railroad, service on the route was suspended between Los Angeles and Seattle on Jan. 19, due to massive mudslides over the railroad north of Chemult, Ore. All railroad traffic through that area has been suspended and is not expected to resume for many weeks. The first northbound departure of this version of the Coast Starlight, Train 14, will leave Los Angeles on Feb. 6 at 10:15 a.m., making all regularly-scheduled stops and arriving in Sacramento

More Than 150,000 Rail Passengers in Southern China Stranded

January 27, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

BEIJING — Thousands of Chinese railway passengers were stranded following heavy snow in southern China. More than 150,000 passengers were stranded at the Guangzhou railway station. The station is on the southern end of a the rail line that connects Beijing. Many of the passengers were heading home for Lunar New Year holiday. An additional 450,000 passengers were expected to be stranded in the coming days. It isn’t clear when rail service might be restored. Several major highways and airports were also been closed because of the heavy snows and freezing rains. — Railfanning.org News Wire