BNSF and Union Pacific Rail Services Disrupted by Washouts and Flooding

This article has been reprinted from the March 21 USDA Grain Transportation Report.

BNSF Railway (BNSF) and the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) continue to deal with record flooding throughout the Midwest.

As a result of high water and washouts, the railroads have closed several subdivisions and issued embargoes.

Outages are most severe in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa. For BNSF, track in and around Council Bluffs and Sioux City, IA, and Omaha and Lincoln, NE, remain out of service.

For UP, the following routes remain closed between: (1) Missouri Valley, IA and Grand Island, NE; (2) Fremont and Lincoln, NE; and (3) Council Bluffs, IA and Kansas City, KS.

The railroads are working to restore track and reroute where possible.

Shippers should expect continued delays on shipments scheduled to move through impacted areas.