A Canal Street streetcar in 2018. The system was shut down briefly by heavy rains on Wednesday.
Bob Johnston
NEW ORLEANS – With all of the Crescent City’s 200 flood gates set to shut by Friday in advance of approaching Tropical Storm Barry, Amtrak has cancelled all service in and out of New Orleans through the upcoming weekend. All trains serving downtown areas, including New Orleans Public Belt operations, must pass through those gates, and city officials warn that a storm surge following expected heavy rains could cause the already-high Mississippi River to flow over 20-foot levees.
“Things are quickly coming to a close,” Public Belt spokesman Chris Bonura tells Trains News Wire. “The two gates around the Almonaster Bridge and our interchange with CSX are closing in a few hours and we are suspending all service after Thursday’s second shift.” Up to eight inches of rain fell in three hours Wednesday, temporarily shutting down all streetcars, but he says Public Belt trains weren’t affected.
Amtrak’s operating scenario as of noon Thursday is as follows:
- The tri-weekly Sunset Limited from Los Angeles terminates at San Antonio, Texas, through Sunday. The first eastbound Sunset into New Orleans is set to arrive Tuesday and depart westbound on July 17.
- The Crescent to New York originates at Atlanta Friday through Sunday, meaning trains leaving New York Thursday through Saturday will terminate there. Thursday’s inbound Crescent was originally expected to be the last train in, but may not make it before the flood gates close and would then be terminated elsewhere.
- The City of New Orleans will continue to only carry passengers between Chicago and Jackson, Miss., through Friday, as it has done intermittently since March after Canadian National told Amtrak it could only deadhead the train over the Bonne Carre Spillway trestle. July 13-14, the City will terminate and originate at Memphis, Tenn., because Barry’s storm track is expected to dump flooding rains as far north as Memphis before veering east. The train was set to begin running with passengers to and from New Orleans next week, but resumption of service over the trestle has now been delayed indefinitely.
“We will assess the situation over the weekend and post additional advisories as needed,” Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari tells Trains News Wire.
–This story was was updated at 2:45 p.m. with additional information on the Crescent
The northbound ‘Crescent’ crosses Lake Ponchartrain east of New Orleans in 2014.
Bob Johnston
Since Houston is well outside the projected path of Tropical Storm Barry, I expected the Sunset Limited to be truncated here instead of San Antonio. The weather forecast for Houston is clear with occasional rain. Some residents of southern Louisiana are even evacuating here.
PV, is there still a long siding in between the mainline and the station? I haven’t been in Houston since the mid-80s, the siding was used for circus trains, the SP 4449 tour and etc. Where would they turn the train? When the Houston-Texas Eagle ran, it left the station area to be turned and serviced. Perhaps those facilities are not available.