BNSF, UP update recovery efforts from winter weather
The most recent updates from BNSF Railway and Union Pacific as they recover from last week’s severe weather:
— BNSF notified customers in a Friday update that it would take some time to clear traffic backlogs, particularly on the southern portion of the railroad, while all four Chicago intermodal facilities have experienced processing delays, in part because of the buildup of snowfall over 13 of the previous 18 days. The railroad says it expects “significant velocity gains and improved fluidity” this week.
— Union Pacific informed customers on Saturday that remaining operations issues in its Southern Region included road conditions south of Little Rock, Ark., affecting the ability to transport crews; continued efforts to recover from snowfall in Arkansas and Missouri; the need to use generators at some Texas locations, although that had decreased significantly. The Chicago terminal is still working to resume normal operations following recent snowfall.
West Virginia efforts to sell closed intermodal facility remain on hold
West Virginia’s efforts to sell the Heartland Intermodal Gateway facility in Pritchard, W.Va., remain in limbo, MetroNews reports. The facility, which opened in 2015, never lived up to expectations, closing in October 2019 after generating only about 500 lifts in the 2019 fiscal year. Rail operator Norfolk Southern sought a minimum of 15,000 lifts annually from the $35 million joint venture, which included about $18 million in state funding. The state decided to sell later that year [see “Legislators question West Virginia plan to sell failed intermodal hub,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 18, 2019], but a planned April 2020 auction was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. State Transportation Secretary Byrd White told a recent legislative committee meeting that some parties remain interested in the property. “We hope to be able to sell it, rent it, do something with it to get it off our books,” White said.
