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KCS - Hurricane Katrina


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#1 CNJRoss

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Posted 31 August 2005 - 06:13 PM

August 30, 2005

MOW crews begin to assess effects of Hurricane Katrina


Hurricane Katrina and the resulting storms continue to affect The Kansas City Southern Railway Company's (KCSR) operation in the New Orleans, La. and Gulfport, Miss. areas and on the eastern portion of the Meridian Speedway between Meridian and Vicksburg, Miss. On August 29, KCSR embargoed Gulfport and Delisle, Miss., New Orleans, Norco, Gramercy and Reserve, La. These areas and the Meridian Speedway between Meridian and Vicksburg, Miss. remain closed.

This morning, maintenance of way crews are removing trees and assessing water damage on the Meridian Speedway and from Baton Rouge to Norco and from Reserve south until they meet water. It is too soon to enter the Gulfport area. A flyover is planned for today and tomorrow to get an early assessment of the overall damage.

In preparation for Hurricane Katrina, KCSR moved its locomotives and customer shipments out of Gulfport and New Orleans over the weekend, staging traffic on higher ground. Further operational updates will be provided as they become available.

#2 CNJRoss

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Posted 31 August 2005 - 06:18 PM

August 31, 2005

KCSR Makes Progress Toward Clearing Lines


Hurricane Katrina and the resulting storms continue to affect The Kansas City Southern Railway Company's (KCSR) operation in the New Orleans, Louisiana and Gulfport, Mississippi areas and on the eastern portion of the Meridian Speedway between Meridian and Jackson, Mississippi.

Maintenance of way crews have cleared the line from Baton Rouge to Frellsen, which is south of the embargoed stations of Gramercy, Reserve and Norco and is approximately 10 miles outside of New Orleans. The embargo will remain for Gramercy, Reserve and Norco until electric utilities are restored to customers near those stations. All traffic bound for New Orleans from any KCS station or interchange remains under embargo. In addition, Mobile, Alabama, Waynesboro, Quitman and Enterprise, Mississippi are being added to the list of stations under embargo.

Maintenance of way crews are still not able to get close enough to Gulfport, Mississippi by rail to truly assess the damage.

This morning, the intermodal ramp at Jackson reopened and trains are moving west from Jackson on the Meridian Speedway. Maintenance of way crews spent all of yesterday removing trees from the line between Vicksburg and Jackson. Tree removal efforts continue today between Jackson and Meridian. It is anticipated that KCS will be able to begin taking traffic at Meridian later this week. KCSR is taking interchange traffic from an eastern railroad at East St. Louis, Illinois.

To accommodate our customers rerouting needs, traffic has been prioritized into three categories:
1. KCSR traffic not affected by the hurricane will be handled at the current rate and service levels.
2. For KCSR traffic disrupted by the hurricane, carload rule 11 rate matrix is below and provides rates to and from alternative junctions.
3. Any new traffic to KCSR will be handled on an available capacity basis, with long-term contract business receiving priority.

Katrina Rule 11 Rate Matrix for Bridge Traffic Options
Click for matrix

Additional updates will be made as soon as more information becomes available.

#3 dcwarner

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Posted 02 September 2005 - 11:48 AM

Kansas City Southern Reopens Main Line Between Meridian, MS and Jackson, MS; Works Bilaterally with Other Rail Carriers to Mitigate Traffic Disruptions Caused by Hurricane:

Kansas City Southern announced that as of 10:00 p.m. CDT on August 31, The Kansas City Southern Railway Company's Meridian Speedway line between Meridian, MS, and Shreveport, LA, is open and operating. The reopening was made possible by the clearing of hundreds of downed trees and other obstructions to the main line between Meridian, MS and Brandon, MS, caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Reopening of the Meridian Speedway has made possible the restoration of rail service to existing KCSR customers and traffic. Currently, KCSR has an agreement with Norfolk Southern (NS) to use the line as a bridge for NS intermodal traffic between Meridian, MS and Alliance, TX. All of this service has now been re-established, but as a result of the closure of the line in the aftermath of the hurricane, additional traffic is anticipated as backlogged traffic is cleared out.

In addition, KCSR has engaged in numerous bilateral discussions with other area rail carriers whose service was affected by Hurricane Katrina. KCSR is working voluntarily with these carriers to find the best alternative ways to route rail traffic in the Gulf Coast region to compensate for the loss of their important rail facilities. KCSR is working with CSX and the Meridian & Bigbee Railway to divert non-intermodal traffic from New Orleans, LA and Birmingham, AL, to Meridian, MS. Voluntary bilateral cooperation among Class I and other carriers to address service outages caused by Hurricane Katrina will result in the quickest restoration of service for shippers.

Since the beginning of 2004, KCSR has made substantial capital investments to expand the capacity of the Meridian Speedway. More capital has been invested in KCSR's infrastructure in Mississippi in recent years than any other state on the system.

While these capital investments have expanded capacity along the line, traffic volumes are very high and it may be several weeks before traffic volumes return to normal. In the meantime, KCSR will continue to work with other railroads on a bilateral basis to identify the best alternative route solutions around hurricane-damaged rail facilities so as to restore the greatest degree of rail service possible in Mississippi and Louisiana as quickly as possible.

On August 29, KCSR embargoed the stations of Gramercy, Reserve, Norco and New Orleans, LA, on the line between Shreveport, LA and New Orleans, LA. The line has been cleared as far south as Frellsen, LA, but the embargo remains until electric utilities are restored to customers on the line.

On August 29, KCSR also embargoed the Delisle, MS and Gulfport, MS, stations. While KCSR's line from Palmer to Delisle and Gulfport, MS could be reopened, the Canadian National (CN) line connecting KCSR from Jackson, MS to Palmer, MS is out of service. Additionally, because Gulfport, MS was the hardest hit, there may not be customers operating there to serve.

On August 31, KCSR added the Mobile, AL, Waynesboro, Quitman and Enterprise, MS, stations to the embargo.

KCS is a transportation holding company that has railroad investments in the United States, Mexico and Panama. Its primary domestic holdings include KCSR and The Texas Mexican Railway Company. Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., KCS serves customers in the central and south central regions of the United States. KCS' rail holdings and investments, including TFM, S.A. de C.V., are primary components of a NAFTA Railway system that links the commercial and industrial centers of the United States, Canada and Mexico.
dcwarner
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#4 CNJRoss

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Posted 03 September 2005 - 08:39 AM

September 2, 2005

More KCSR Line Openings Keep Trains Moving, Despite Fuel Challenges


Following yesterday's reopening of the Meridian Speedway from Dallas, TX to Meridian, Miss., The Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCSR) has completed the clearance of trees and other debris from several more lines, allowing the lines to reopen. These include the Louisville Subdivision from Newton to West Point, Miss., the Tuscaloosa Subdivision from Artesia, Miss. to Brookwood, Ala. and the Sebastopol Branch from Union to Sebastopol, Miss.

On the Gulfport Subdivision from Palmer to Gulfport and the Delisle lead, KCSR has found the track to be in good condition after removing trees and other debris. Downed power lines on the track are expected to be repaired tomorrow. While KCSR trains can access the yard at Gulfport, the yard office is inoperable and traffic cannot be taken to the pier nor interchanged with CSX.

At this time, KCSR's diesel fuel supply is sufficient to run trains and we are optimistic that it will remain so. However, the lack of fuel and electric utilities in several areas are making it a challenge for employees to get to work, or for vans to transport crews to the trains. While KCSR is not operating according to its regular transportation service plan, trains are moving.

Embargoes remain for the New Orleans, Norco, Gramercy, and Reserve, La. stations, as well as for the Mobile, Ala. and Gulfport, Delisle, Waynesboro, Quitman and Enterprise, Miss. stations.

Updates will be posted as soon as they become available at www.kcsi.com from the link on the home page titled "Service Status Updates Regarding Hurricane Katrina".

#5 CNJRoss

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Posted 07 September 2005 - 07:42 AM

September 6, 2005

Service Status Update Following Hurricane Katrina



Since Hurricane Katrina struck a week ago, KCS employees and contractors have worked diligently to restore rail service to the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. By the close of last week, KCSR's lines had been cleared of trees and debris to the point where the track meets water in New Orleans and to the Port of Gulfport, Miss.

KCS senior vice president international engineering Jerry Heavin, who was on the scene last week, said, "From a structural standpoint, the track has held up very well, considering the conditions. The primary problems were downed trees and power lines, some minor slides and washouts."

Over the weekend, the embargo was lifted for Gramercy, La. Today, the embargo was also lifted for DPC Industries, Inc. at Reserve, La. However, embargoes remain for New Orleans, Norco and the remainder of Reserve, La. and Gulfport, Delisle, Waynesboro, Quitman and Enterprise, Miss. because customers on the line, or interchange partners remain out of service.

With the exception of the embargoed areas, trains are moving, despite challenges. In the Baton Rouge, La., Jackson and Gulfport, Miss. areas, a lack of electrical power is creating the need for signal crews to place generators at approximately 70 flasher crossings. A lack of electrical power and the significant demand for gasoline, is making it a challenge for crews in these areas to get to work, still many are persevering to keep the railroad running.

As new information becomes available, it will be posted on www.kcsi.com. See the link on the home page titled "Service Status Updates Regarding Hurricane Katrina".

#6 CNJRoss

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Posted 08 September 2005 - 03:53 PM

September 8, 2005

KCSR Lifts More Embargoes, Power Restored to Some Areas


This week, signal workers for The Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCSR) have reduced the number of flasher crossings dependent on generators in the areas of Baton Rouge, La., Jackson and Gulfport, Miss. KCSR will further reduce this count as electrical utilities are restored.

KCSR's Service Status Update for September 6, 2005 reported that by the close of last week the lines affected by Hurricane Katrina had been cleared of trees and debris to the point where the track meets water in New Orleans and to the Port of Gulfport, Miss.

As of this morning, the embargo has been lifted for Norco, La. and Tomah Products, Inc. at Reserve, La. On September 6, the embargo was lifted for DPC Industries, Inc. at Reserve. Over the weekend, the embargo was lifted for Gramercy, La. Remaining embargoes include New Orleans and the remainder of Reserve, La. and Gulfport, Delisle, Waynesboro, Quitman and Enterprise, Miss. because customers on the line, or interchange partners remain out of service.

As new information becomes available, Service Status Updates are posted at www.kcsi.com from a link at the bottom left hand corner of the home page.

#7 CNJRoss

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Posted 12 September 2005 - 08:52 PM

September 12, 2005

KCSR Lifts More Embargoes, Restores More Signals



While rail service was restored to the majority of the storm affected areas within days, due to electric utility outages in some areas, generators protect 19 signals and some embargoes remain.

Over the weekend, the embargo was lifted for Reserve, La., Quitman and Enterprise, Miss. and Mobile, Ala. Embargoes remain for traffic interchanged at and destined to New Orleans, La. and Gulfport, Delisle and Waynesboro, Miss. The existing embargoes will remain until customers or interchanging railroads are ready to handle rail traffic.

As new information becomes available, Service Status Updates are posted at www.kcsi.com from a link at the bottom left hand corner of the home page.

#8 CNJRoss

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Posted 14 September 2005 - 06:57 PM

September 14, 2005

KCSR Resumes Some Traffic Via New Orleans, Lifts Waynesboro Embargo


Today, the embargoes for Waynesboro, Miss. and traffic interchanged at New Orleans, La. via NS or CN were lifted. Embargoes remain for Gulfport and Delisle, Miss. and all other New Orleans proper or traffic interchanged with other carriers at New Orleans. The existing embargoes will remain until customers or interchanging railroads are ready to handle rail traffic.

As new information becomes available, Service Status Updates are posted at www.kcsi.com from a link at the bottom left hand corner of the home page.

#9 CNJRoss

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Posted 23 October 2005 - 08:20 PM

October 21, 2005

KCS Lifts Several Hurricane-Related Embargoes


This morning, hurricane-related embargoes were lifted for Buhler, DeQuincy, Lake Charles, Mossville and West Lake Charles, La., as well as Chaison, Port Arthur and Port Neches, TX.

At Beaumont, TX, the embargo has been lifted for all customers and interchange traffic to and from Texas Mexican Railway Company, UP and BNSF. The only exception is Exxonmobil Oil Corporation and Louis Dreyfus Corporation at Beaumont, which remains under embargo.

At Lake Charles, La, the embargo has been lifted for all customers and interchange traffic. The only exception is BW Services at Lake Charles, which remains under embargo.

New Orleans, La. remains under embargo with a few exceptions. Embargoes have been lifted for traffic interchanging to and from NS, CN and NOPB, as well as for Delta Petroleum and Chemcentral at New Orleans.

Gulfport, Miss. remains under embargo with a few exceptions. Embargoes have been lifted for Boral Brick, Dole Fresh Fruit, Interior Exterior Corporation, Klumb Lumber, Stevedoring Services and Gulfport proper.

Delisle, Miss. remains under embargo.

KCS will advise customers, as new information becomes available. Updates can also be found from the link on the home page of www.kcsi.com titled "Service Status Updates Regarding Hurricanes".




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