BNSF does not expect full recovery from the winter storm that swept across its network until early next week, the railroad said in a Tuesday, Jan. 27, customer advisory.
CSX says in its own Tuesday advisory that it continues to work to fully restore operations, while Union Pacific said Tuesday during its quarterly earnings call that it expects to be fully recovered by Thursday, Jan. 29.
Traffic on BNSF’s Southern Transcon should “moderate” by midweek, BNSF said. Cold-weather operating restrictions have been lifted in the south; they remain in place on the northernmost lines but should be lifted by Friday. Some locations, including Tulsa, Okla., Memphis, and North Fort Worth’s Alliance Intermodal Facility, continue to see limited operations because of lingering ice conditions.
While the worst weather has passed, the railroad says cold conditions and freeze-and-thaw cycles continue, and another surge of Arctic air is expected to move from the Plains to the east and southeast Friday and Saturday. BNSF is positioning additional locomotives in those areas for use where extreme cold will lead to train-length restrictions.
CSX’s region-by-region rundown says that heavy snowfall and cold temperatures continue to affect operations between Buffalo and Selkirk, N.Y., with generators deployed to maintain power in the event of commercial outages. The railroad’s Midwest Region (including St. Louis, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Chicago) is continuing to deal with “bitter cold,” CSX says, while the Southwest Region (including Nashville, Memphis, and Bruceton, Tenn.) is facing extreme cold, snow, and substantial ice. In the Southwest, more than 40 generators have been deployed and more than 500 trees and other debris have been cleared. Most terminals have reopened but are operating at reduced capacity; the Memphis Transflo terminal remains closed.
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