Union Pacific to Re-Open Storm-Damaged Routes

0

Union Pacific Corp. announced Tuesday that the last two of its four storm-damaged Southern California routes will re-open Jan. 24.


Despite reopening, the railroad will refuse to take on new freight for another four or five days until the backlog of cargo at ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is cleared. The delays have pushed some shipments back as much as four to five weeks.


The two routes originating from the rail yards east of downtown Los Angeles heading east to Salt Lake City via Las Vegas and north to Oakland have remained closed since flooding and mudslides forced Union Pacific to shut down four of its five regional lines on Jan. 9.


Essential cargo heading west into the L.A. Basin, such as the gasoline additive ethanol, coal for a northern Nevada power plant and chlorine for drinking water are the among the few kinds of freight that Union Pacific has been accepting.


The cargo comes into L.A. via alternative the Northern Nevada route that bypasses Las Vegas, where flooding severely damaged tracks east of the city.


“Once we open the (two) routes, it’s going to be slow for a while,” said John Bromley, spokesman for Union Pacific, of the continuing freight embargo. “It’s been a significant interruption to our Southern California operation.”

No posts to display