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UPRR - Hurricane Harvey to Impact Rail Operations


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#1 CNJRoss

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Posted 24 August 2017 - 04:36 PM

UP Customer News:
 

Union Pacific Preparing for Tropical Depression Harvey

Posted Date: August 23, 2017

 

To Our Customers,

 

Tropical Depression Harvey is forecast to hit the Gulf Coast as a hurricane by Friday. Forecasts suggest it will bring flooding across Texas and Louisiana.

 

Delays to rail traffic should be anticipated, especially in areas receiving heavy rainfall. To mitigate service impact, Union Pacific has activated its hurricane response plan, which includes strategically staging resources such as ballast, pumps, locomotives, generators and work crews throughout the affected region.

 

We will continue to monitor this storm and provide you with additional information if necessary. Please contact the National Customer Service Center or your Union Pacific representative with any questions.

 

 



#2 CNJRoss

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Posted 24 August 2017 - 09:12 PM

UP Customer News:

 
Hurricane Harvey to Impact Rail Operations

Posted Date: August 24, 2017

 

To Our Customers,

 

Harvey has intensified to hurricane status and is forecast to hit the Gulf Coast by tomorrow. In preparation for the excessive winds and rains that will impact our rail operations, we have begun moving rail cars located in our yards prone to flooding to higher elevations. Beginning tonight, we will also curtail trains operating through areas expected to be impacted by the hurricane in order to protect our employees and equipment. This could include locations from Brownsville, Texas along the coast to Beaumont, Texas and beyond.

 

Our Hurricane Hotline is 800-365-6963 and should be used by our customers to report any damage to their facility that would impact our ability to serve them once service returns. This information should include damage or tracks out of service and estimated facility repair time.

 

We will continue to monitor this storm and provide you with additional information if necessary. Please contact the National Customer Service Center or your Union Pacific representative with any questions.

 

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#3 CNJRoss

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Posted 28 August 2017 - 07:43 PM

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Union Pacific Railroad Donating $250,000 for Hurricane Harvey Relief

 

Omaha, Neb., August 28, 2017

 

 

Union Pacific today pledged $250,000 to support Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. The funds will be provided from a variety of company donations, demonstrating the railroad's commitment to Houston and other affected railroad communities, and employees who live and work there.

 

The company is immediately donating $100,000 to the American Red Cross and $50,000 to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner's Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund. Additionally, Union Pacific will match contributions to its "Friend to Friend" employee support network through Sept. 30, dollar-for-dollar, up to $100,000. The company will also match donations made to a Disaster Relief Matching Gifts Program for Hurricane Harvey, where employees can provide funding directly to American Red Cross, Salvation Army and others.

 

Union Pacific's Southern Region is headquartered in Houston, a major freight rail hub for Union Pacific and the transportation industry.

Throughout the relief and recovery efforts, Union Pacific is committed to maintaining its unrelenting focus on employee, community and customer safety.

 

Operations Update

Hurricane Harvey, downgraded Monday to Tropical Storm Harvey, continues causing heavy rain and widespread flooding in Houston and the surrounding area. The storm is predicted to persist for several more days, generating record rainfalls. A second landfall is predicted for Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning, with 50 total inches of rain expected in some areas by Friday.

 

As of Monday afternoon, specific impacts to Union Pacific operations include:

  • Suspended rail operations along the Texas Gulf Coast from Brownsville through Corpus Christi to Houston and east to Lake Charles, Louisiana.
  • Embargoes for all rail traffic destined to Gulf Coast locations and others within the Houston Service Unit. Union Pacific recommends customers consider diverting cars destined to the impacted area where feasible.
  • No trains operating through flooded and storm-damaged areas.
  • Conducting track inspections, where possible, in anticipation of resuming operations.

 



#4 CNJRoss

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Posted 30 August 2017 - 07:36 PM

UP Customer News:

 
Gulf Region Rail Operations Update

Posted Date: August 29, 2017

 

To Our Customers,

 

Tropical Storm Harvey continues to cause widespread flooding in the Houston area. Rail operations along the Gulf Coast from Brownsville, Texas to Lake Charles, Louisiana are currently suspended due to high water and storm damage. 

 

As weather and access to storm damaged areas allows, we are inspecting and repairing track, bridges and signals to return to service as quickly and safely as possible. Until the storms move out and the flooding recedes, we are not able to access or inspect our tracks and facilities in the greater Houston area. Rain and flooding continues in Houston and east of Houston into Louisiana.

 

Routes through San Antonio are opening up which will allow us to run trains both north and south between San Antonio and Hearne, Texas. The Laredo gateway remains open to interchange traffic with the Mexican railroads. 

 

Livonia and Avondale shipments destined to points west of Tucson into California normally traveling through Houston will be re-routed through Longview and Ft. Worth, Texas around the flooded areas.

 

If you have questions regarding the movement of specific rail equipment, please continue to input Service Issues via our secure customer website MyUPRR.com (User ID and password required). Our Hurricane Hotline is 800-365-6963 and should be used by our customers to report any damage to facilities that would impact our ability to provide service once operations resume. This information should include damage or tracks out of service and estimated facility repair time. 

 

We have issued embargoes on all rail traffic destined to stations on the Gulf Coast and inland that comprise our Houston Service Unit. Active Union Pacific embargoes can be viewed on our embargo page. The embargo is for all rail traffic, including intermodal equipment and automotive shipments. Customers should consider diverting cars away from the impacted area. 

 

Please contact the National Customer Service Center or your Union Pacific representative with any questions.

 



#5 CNJRoss

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Posted 30 August 2017 - 07:37 PM

UP Customer News:

 
Gulf Region Rail Operations Update

Posted Date: August 30, 2017

 

To Our Customers,

 

Tropical Storm Harvey has made landfall in the Beaumont, Texas area with heavy rains and flooding in eastern Texas and western Louisiana. Rail operations along the Gulf Coast from Brownsville, Texas to Lake Charles, Louisiana are currently suspended due to high water and storm damage.

 

As weather and access to storm-damaged areas allow, we are inspecting and repairing track, bridges and signals to return to service as quickly and safely as possible. We are beginning to inspect most areas in Houston and west of Houston. In areas where we have no road access, we are utilizing helicopters and drones to inspect areas by air. The majority of areas east of Houston are still inaccessible at this time. We expect to be able to begin clean-up at our Englewood and Settegast yards in Houston today or tomorrow in order to return the yards to service.

 

Routes through San Antonio opened up allowing us to run trains both north and south between San Antonio and Hearne, Texas. All Mexico gateways are open with the exception of Brownsville, Texas.

 

If you have questions regarding the movement of specific rail equipment, please continue to input Service Issues via our secure customer website MyUPRR.com (User ID and password required). Our Hurricane Hotline is 800-365-6963 and should be used by our customers to report any damage to facilities that would impact our ability to provide service once operations resume. This information should include damage or tracks out of service and estimated facility repair time.

 

We have issued embargoes on all rail traffic destined to stations on the Gulf Coast and inland that comprise our Houston Service Unit. Active Union Pacific embargoes can be viewed on our embargo page. The embargo is for all rail traffic, including intermodal equipment and automotive shipments. Customers should consider diverting cars away from the impacted area.

 

Please contact the National Customer Service Center or your Union Pacific representative with any questions.

 



#6 CNJRoss

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Posted 31 August 2017 - 08:03 PM

UP Customer News:

 
Gulf Region Rail Operations Update

Posted Date: August 31, 2017

 

To Our Customers,

 

Our Gulf Coast operations continue to be impacted by the aftermath of Tropical Storm Harvey. Following are updates since our last notice:

  • Repairs have been completed between Houston and Bryan, Texas.
  • Repairs have been completed between Houston and Angleton, Texas.
  • Work has been completed to begin switching operations over the next two days in areas south of our primary rail yards (Englewood and Settegast) including Angleton, La Porte and Freeport, Texas.
  • Repairs between Houston and San Antonio are among our areas of focus today. Once repaired, this will allow us to operate trains directly between San Antonio and Houston.
  • Repairs to track and signals, as well as bridge inspections continue where we have access. In areas where we have no road access, such as in the Baytown, Texas area, we continue to utilize helicopters and drones to inspect areas by air.

We have removed some embargo locations from the Houston area. A complete list of active Union Pacific embargoes can be viewed on our embargo page. The embargoes are for all rail traffic, including intermodal equipment and automotive shipments. Customers should consider diverting cars away from the impacted areas.

 

As of yesterday, we have issued additional embargoes:

  • All Union Pacific shipments interchanged at Brownsville, Texas.
  • Including 36 rail stations in the Beaumont/Orange, Texas areas including Amelia and Port Arthur.

If you have questions regarding the movement of specific rail equipment, please continue to input Service Issues via our secure customer website MyUPRR.com (User ID and password required). Our Hurricane Hotline is 800-365-6963 and should be used by our customers to report any damage to facilities that would impact our ability to provide service once operations resume. This information should include damage or tracks out of service and estimated facility repair time.

 

Please contact the National Customer Service Center or your Union Pacific representative with any questions.

 

This map is for illustrative purposes only. The map is not inclusive of all industrial leads, branch lines, or yards. Please refer to the embargo page for a complete list of active embargoes and rail station listings.

 

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#7 CNJRoss

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Posted 31 August 2017 - 08:06 PM

Progressive Railroading8/31/17:

 
Hurricane Harvey: UP uses drones to survey damage; KCS, BLET donate to relief funds
082917-Union-Pacific-Harvey-flooding-2.j
UP is using drones and helicopters to assess Harvey storm damage. Photo – Union Pacific Railroad

 

Union Pacific Railroad is using helicopters and drones to inspect by air its track, bridges and signals in areas east and west of Houston where road access is unavailable due to flooding and storm damage from Hurricane Harvey.

As weather and access to storm-damaged areas allow, UP is inspecting and repairing track, bridges and signals to return rail service as quickly as possible, the railroad said in yesterday's customer notice. As of yesterday, the majority of of areas east of Houston were still inaccessible.

 

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#8 CNJRoss

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Posted 02 September 2017 - 08:22 AM

UP Customer News:

 
Gulf Region Rail Operations Update

Posted Date: September 1, 2017

 

To Our Customers,

 

Union Pacific's freight rail service in the Houston area is coming back on-line. People are urged to be safe at railroad crossings and along railroad tracks. While tracks may have been dormant for several days following the storm, many of them are now active. As always, heed all warning signs and signals at crossings and do not trespass on railroad property or along railroad tracks. Additional rail safety information can be found at www.up.com/worththewait.

 

Our Gulf Coast operations continue to be impacted by the aftermath of Tropical Storm Harvey. In areas indicated below, repairs have been completed and we are currently, or soon will be, operating trains.

 

Following are updates since our last notice:

  • Repairs have been completed between Houston, Texas and Navasota, Texas — providing another route into and out of Houston towards Bryan, Texas.
  • Repairs have been completed between Houston, Texas and San Antonio, Texas.
  • Interchange between Union Pacific and the Port Terminal Railroad Association (PTRA) is scheduled to resume today.
  • We have been able to inspect our track on the Baytown, Texas branch and intend to begin repairs today, with the effort taking multiple days. We estimate this rail segment to return to service next week.
  • One of our top priorities is to restore our east-west lines which will allow us to move trains directly between Houston, Texas and Beaumont, Texas. Once these repairs are complete, we will be able to resume service between eastern Louisiana and Houston, Texas to points beyond.
  • Repairs to track and signals, as well as bridge inspections continue where we have access. In areas where we have no road access, we continue to utilize helicopters and drones to inspect areas by air.

A complete list of active Union Pacific embargoes can be viewed on our embargo page. The embargoes are for all rail traffic, including intermodal equipment and automotive shipments.

 

If you have questions regarding the movement of specific rail equipment, please continue to input Service Issues via our secure customer website MyUPRR.com (User ID and password required). Our Hurricane Hotline is 800-365-6963 and should be used by our customers to report any damage to facilities that would impact our ability to provide service once operations resume. This information should include damage or tracks out of service and estimated facility repair time.

 

Please contact the National Customer Service Center or your Union Pacific representative with any questions.

 

This map is for illustrative purposes only. The map is not inclusive of all industrial leads, branch lines, or yards. Please refer to the embargo page for a complete list of active embargoes and rail station listings.

img_up_annc_90117.gif

 



#9 CNJRoss

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Posted 02 September 2017 - 05:20 PM

UP Customer News:

 
Gulf Region Rail Operations Update

Posted Date: September 2, 2017

 

To Our Customers,

 

We have made great strides on restoring our network and are making continual progress. Like many of our customers in this region, our employees have been personally affected by the storm and must turn their attention to their families and their safety. We will continue to do everything we can to restore service as your facilities come back on line and your teams return to work, but we ask for your patience as the safety and well-being of our employees and their families is our top priority. As work continues, we remain committed to providing the most up-to-date feedback to allow your teams to make effective decisions for your operations.

 

As Union Pacific's freight rail service in the Houston area comes back on line, people are urged to be safe at railroad crossings and along railroad tracks. While tracks may have been dormant for several days following the storm, many of them are now active. As always, heed all warning signs and signals at crossings and do not trespass on railroad property or along railroad tracks. Additional rail safety information can be found at www.up.com/worththewait.

 

Our Gulf Coast operations continue to be impacted by the aftermath of Tropical Storm Harvey. Where repairs have been completed we are, or will soon be, operating trains.

 

Following are updates since our last notice:

 

 

  • Repairs have been completed between Houston and Longview, Texas.
  • Repairs have begun on our track on the Baytown, Texas branch. We estimate this part of our railroad to return to service the first part of next week. 
  •  
  • One of our top priorities is to restore our east-west lines, which will allow us to move trains directly between Houston and Beaumont, Texas. This part of our railroad may not be repaired for another week, as roadways are blocked and access is limited in the Beaumont area. We are also restricted from accessing a portion of track near the Arkema Plant at Crosby, Texas, which sits right next to our main line.
  • We have lost part of our bridge just north of Houston on our line that runs up to Shreveport, Louisiana. This bridge is expected to take a month to repair and is near Humble, Texas.
  • Work was complete on our line running from Angleton, Texas down south through Bloomington, Texas; however, we have just learned a bridge 13 miles south of Angleton has been damaged. Inspectors are en route to determine the extent of the damage.
  • A substantial washout at Chocolate Bayou, Texas, near Angleton, TX, is being addressed, with plans to restore service the middle of next week.
  • Repairs to track and signals, as well as bridge inspections continue where we have access. In areas where we have no road access, we continue to utilize helicopters and drones to inspect areas by air.

A complete list of active Union Pacific embargoes can be viewed on our embargo page. The embargoes are for all rail traffic, including intermodal equipment and automotive shipments. Barbours Cut Intermodal facility is currently embargoed and not open for traffic.

 

If you have questions regarding the movement of specific rail equipment, please continue to input Service Issues via our secure customer website, MyUPRR.com (User ID and password required). Our Hurricane Hotline is 800-365-6963 and should be used by our customers to report any damage to facilities that would impact our ability to provide service once operations resume. This information should include damage or tracks out of service and estimated facility repair time.

 

This map is for illustrative purposes only. The map is not inclusive of all industrial leads, branch lines or yards. Please refer to the embargo page for a complete list of active embargoes and rail station listings.

 img_up_harvey090217.gif

 

 



#10 CNJRoss

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Posted 03 September 2017 - 05:12 PM

UP Customer News:

 
Gulf Region Rail Operations Update

Posted Date: September 3, 2017

 

To Our Customers, 

 

We continue to make great strides restoring our Gulf Coast operations impacted by the aftermath of Tropical Storm Harvey. Where repairs have been completed we are, or will soon be, operating trains.

 

We will continue to do everything we can to restore service as your facilities come back on line and your teams return to work, but we ask for your patience as the safety and well-being of our employees and their families is our top priority. As work continues, we remain committed to providing the most up-to-date feedback to allow your teams to make effective decisions for your operations. 

 

As Union Pacific's freight rail service in the Houston area comes back on line, people are urged to be safe at railroad crossings and along railroad tracks. While tracks may have been dormant for several days following the storm, many of them are now active. As always, heed all warning signs and signals at crossings and do not trespass on railroad property or along railroad tracks. Additional rail safety information can be found at www.up.com/worththewait

 

Following are updates since our last notice

  • Repairs are going well on the Baytown, Texas branch. We estimate this part of our railroad to be back in service late this afternoon or early evening. 
  • The repairs at Chocolate Bayou went better than expected over the past 24 hours, and we restored service to the Chocolate Bayou line segment late last night.
  • The bridge over the San Bernard River, located south of Angleton, Texas, is expected to take at least two weeks to repair. We are unable to begin work on this bridge until the water recedes to a safe level, which is projected to occur this Thursday or Friday. Meanwhile, we are able to run trains from Houston to Angleton and Freeport, Texas. Additionally, we are reviewing our transportation plan for alternative routes between Angleton and Bloomington, Texas.
  • Repairs to track and signals, as well as bridge inspections continue where we have access. In areas like Beaumont, Texas, where we have no road access, we continue to utilize helicopters and drones to inspect areas by air. 
  • Where routes are open, the Southern Region of our network will operate trains at normal levels over the Labor Day holiday weekend. 

A complete list of active Union Pacific embargoes can be viewed on our embargo page. The embargoes are for all rail traffic, including intermodal equipment and automotive shipments. Barbours Cut Intermodal Facility is currently embargoed and not open for traffic. 

If you have questions regarding the movement of specific rail equipment, please continue to input Service Issues via our secure customer website, MyUPRR.com (User ID and password required). Our Hurricane Hotline is 800-365-6963 and should be used by our customers to report any damage to facilities that would impact our ability to provide service once operations resume. This information should include damage or tracks out of service and estimated facility repair time. 

 

Please contact the National Customer Service Center or your Union Pacific representative with any questions.

 






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