TAMPA, Fla. — Locomotives and freight cars are being moved to higher ground and railroad operations are winding down as Hurricane Milton is only a few hours from making landfall between Tampa Bay and Sarasota on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
CSX is bracing customers for delays in the Tampa area as Hurricane Milton nears landfall later today (Wednesday, Oct. 9), expecting downed trees and power outages on its Wildwood Subdivision between Baldwin Yard near Jacksonville, Fla., and Zephyrhills, Fla., its Lakeland Subdivision between Lakeland, Fla., to near Tampa, Fla., and surrounding Tampa lines.
The railroad is moving all locomotives and freight cars away from low-lying areas in Tampa this morning toward Jacksonville and is staging trains at Baldwin Yard until the storm passes through central Florida.
Operations are continuing as normal in the Waycross, Ga., region this morning.
CSX-served intermodal terminals at Tampa and Central Florida ILC at Winter Haven, Fla., are closed while Jacksonville remains open for drop-offs and pick-ups. The railroad’s two TRANSFLO terminals in Tampa are closed and its Sanford, Fla., transload terminal will close at 12 p.m. Wednesday.
Short lines are also taking precautionary measures, including Regional Rail’s four Florida short lines, which are all in Hurricane Milton’s path.
“Through the efforts of our dedicated employees, each one facing the storm challenges at their own homes, we have been able to secure our operations and annul operations in advance of the storm. This included removing crossing gates, removing railcars from flood-prone tracks, staging ballast stockpiles and securing locomotives at key ‘high and dry’ locations,” says Matthew Schwerin, vice president western region at Regional Rail.
Regional Rail operates the Port Manatee Railrad at Port Manatee, Fla., Florida Northern Railroad at Newberry, Fla., and Ocala, Fla., Florida Central Railroad in Orlando, and the Florida Midland Railroad at Winter Haven, Fla.
Florida East Coast Railway had previously announced moves to wind down operations on Tuesday, while Amtrak, Brightline, and Orlando-area commuter operator SunRail have suspended some or all services [see “Freight, passenger railroads on high alert …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 7, 2024].
